


One Shot Collection

by Jakobre_the_Writer



Category: RWBY
Genre: A mishmash of ideas, Alternate Universe, Angst, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, lots of different au's
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:08:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 42
Words: 90,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25384321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jakobre_the_Writer/pseuds/Jakobre_the_Writer
Summary: A collection of various one shots that I have laying around that either didn't have enough going for them to make into longer AU's or were one shots conceptually. A little bit of everyone in a variety of settings!
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Robyn Hill/Winter Schnee
Comments: 296
Kudos: 246





	1. The Cabin

“Do you see it?”

“I see it.”

“Don’t get nervous. When you’re ready, squeeze the trigger.”

“I know how to shoot.”

“I know. I’m not rushing you.”

“Well it sure sounds like you’re rushing me.”

“I’m not trying to. I’m just-oh, shit.”

The proud, powerful head of a buck lifted up from the grass and scanned the forest. After a moment, it whipped its head around and scampered away, vanishing into the trees. Winter let out a sigh and allowed herself to fall back onto the ground. She landed with a soft thud and looked up to see Weiss still leaning on the fallen tree they had picked as a place to overlook the clearing. 

“It’s okay, Weiss. You’ll get it next time,” she said softly and Weiss nodded slowly, then proceeded to unload and de-arm the crossbow she had been using. 

“Yeah, I will,” Weiss said, but the determination in her voice was forced at best and a bad cover for misery at worst. Winter knew that her sister still wasn’t entirely on board with the idea of hunting, but she had insisted on learning. In some small way, Winter supposed, it was Weiss trying to reconnect with her sister after so much time apart. Still, things had been getting better. “You have food at the house, right?”

“Of course I do,” Winter said, then stood with a grunt. She offered a hand to Weiss, who took it gladly and allowed her sister to haul her to her feet. “Besides, we’d have to hang the meat on him for a few days anyway. Be too tough to use right away.”

“So you have to hang it first?” Weiss asked, slinging the crossbow over her back and returning the bolt to her quiver. 

Winter shrugged and turned to lead the way back to her cabin. “You don’t have to, but I prefer venison better if it’s been given a few days to get tender. Cooks up better that way.” She looked over to see Weiss chewing on the information, a small frown beginning to form on her face. Winter reached out and wrapped an arm around her sister’s shoulders, both as a show of support and to steer her away from the roots on the path ahead. “You know you don’t have to go hunting with me, right? If it bothers you, we can do something else.”

“It’s not that,” Weiss said, then stopped herself in thought, “I mean, it does bother me but I think I’ll get over it. At least you actually use the whole animal.”

“Yeah, I’m not about doing it for sport. There’s no point to it if you’re just doing it to show off.”

That seemed to satisfy Weiss and she leaned into Winter’s side as they walked. The three miles back to Winter’s cabin were taken in contemplative silence, the sisters simply enjoying one another’s company without needing to speak. It had been a while since they’d seen each other, a few months in fact, but Winter was glad for every opportunity she had to spend with her younger sister. The two had been so distant from one another for so long, that it had taken some convincing to get Weiss to come up to see her at first. 

Winter couldn’t help the sigh of relief she let out as her cabin came into view. It was a proper, old fashioned log cabin affair, complete with a tin roof over the porch and a chimney that, in a few hours, would be puffing out smoke to keep away the chill from the fall. Next to the chimney was a small antenna, which provided Winter with just enough cell signal to contact the outside world. Her truck was still parked out front, on the long dirt road that led from the nearest town up the mountain to the cabin. The whole thing was tucked away in a small clearing that Winter had cleared out herself. The cabin had been her life’s work, well, her new life’s work. Being in line as heiress for the Schnee Dust Company hadn’t left much time for mountain excursions, but once she was free of that she had all the time in the world. For a long while, she lived out of her truck while she put the cabin together.

“You go ahead and shower, Weiss,” Winter said, “I’ll get something together for dinner.”

“Okay. I’ll put the crossbow back right,” Weiss said as she headed towards the small shed next to the cabin.

“It’s your crossbow, you can do whatever you want with it,” Winter called out after her before heading inside, but she saw Weiss nod happily at the reminder. The crossbow had been a strange birthday gift, and one that Winter had to keep at her cabin as Weiss couldn’t keep it in Vale, but she was glad that her sister liked it so much. Weiss had never been a fan of guns, especially once she had started to learn how to fire them herself. She much preferred the crossbow, and took to it with gusto. Winter hadn’t even needed to teach her sister how to take care of the weapon, Weiss had done all the research herself. 

Dinner was going to be a soup, Winter decided. It was still early enough to throw one together, at least with things in the fridge, and soon the tiny kitchen was full of the wonderful smells of cooking. By the time that Weiss was out of the shower, the soup was beginning to thicken up into more a stew than anything else.

“Smells good,” Weiss said as she pulled out a chair to the kitchen table, “When did you learn to cook?”

“I’ve been cooking for years,” Winter protested, throwing in a copious amount of spices as she did so, “I started learning way before I moved here.”

Weiss grimaced as she remembered those early attempts at cooking. “When did you learn to cook well?”

“I-” Winter started to protest, then let out a sigh and shook her head. “Robyn taught me.”

“Robyn?”

“My girlfriend, remember? She and her wife Fiona live fifteen or so miles that way.” Winter gestured in a vaguely westward direction, though she knew if she had to she could easily find her way to Robyn’s cabin without much trouble. She made the trek at least four times a month anyway.

“Your girlfriend has a wife?” Weiss asked incredulously, and Winter hurried to answer before her sister drew any nasty conclusions.

“They have an interesting relationship. I mean, technically, Fiona’s also my girlfriend,” Winter said, in as matter of fact a way as she could, then paused in thought. “I guess that May and Joanna are too, now that I think about it.”

She didn't have to turn around to see Weiss’ mask of both exasperation and confusion. “You have four girlfriends? Who are Joanna and May?”

“It’s polyamory,” Winter said with a shrug, stirring the stew once more before putting the lid on and heading to the kitchen table. “Joanna and May were already a part of it before I moved up here, I just kinda...got picked up on the way.”

“Whatever makes you happy,” Weiss said after a moment’s pause.

“It does make me happy,” Winter said softly, her eyes suddenly far away, in a cabin fifteen miles west. Her cabin was lovely, it was her home, but there was something wonderful about spending the night with Robyn and Fiona. It felt like being part of a family. If she wasn’t so proud of having built her cabin on her own, she would have accepted Robyn’s offer to move in permanently last spring. She snapped herself out of her reverie, and glanced up at her sister who was quietly looking around the cabin. “What about you? How are things in Vale?”

“Fine. I’ve been busy at Beacon, with the new semester starting and everything. Admissions is a madhouse right now, I had to schedule this time off two months in advance.” Weiss’ job at Beacon Academy was something that she was especially proud of, and she had every right to be. After getting away from their father, Weiss had spent a few months with Winter in the mountains, before heading out on her own. Outside of a shoulder to cry on, she hadn’t let Winter provide her any help. The life that she had built, the apartment she’d found, the job, that was all Weiss’ doing. Winter couldn’t be prouder of her.

“I bet it is,” Winter said with a dry laugh, “Are you meeting people? You’re making friends, right?”

“Yes, mom, I have friends,” Weiss said with a teasing smile and Winter laughed softly. “I told you about Yang and Blake, didn’t I?”

“Yeah,” Winter said, stroking her chin in thought, “Blake works part time in admissions, right?”

Weiss nodded in affirmation. “And she’s dating Yang, so it was pretty inevitable that we’d meet. They’re good people, I like them a lot. Oh, and there’s Ruby!”

“Ruby?”

“Yang’s sister. She just came into Beacon this year. Her application got all mixed up in the system and Yang started to freak out about it. She knew I worked in admissions, so she came to me for help.”

“What was up with the application?” Winter asked, then added, “You want some coffee?”

“Decaf, please. I need to get some sleep tonight,” Weiss said and Winter stood to get the coffee going. As she worked, Weiss continued, “There was a mix up in the system, so there were two ‘Ruby Rose’ files. But the system only uses one for the student’s account, and the one the Ruby had linked wasn’t the same one that her application got sent to. She’d log on and find a blank page. Apparently she cried a lot when she first saw it.”

“I would have,” Winter said and Weiss laughed.

“Yeah, me too honestly. But I managed to move all the files and she got accepted immediately, so Yang took me out to dinner with Blake and some other people they know. It was nice. We’ve been out there a few times since.”

“You’ll have to take me there when I come down to visit.”

“I have a whole list of places that I’m taking you to when you come to Vale.”

Winter smirked and folded her arms while she waited for the coffee. It was just like her sister to have an itinerary for a simple visit. It wouldn’t have been horribly surprising if Weiss had come up to the cabin expecting them to keep to a strict schedule. 

Soon enough the coffee was ready and the two sisters were enjoying a mug each as they waited for the stew to finish cooking. After taking a long sip of her coffee, Winter looked over to see Weiss answering a message on her phone. Normally, she wouldn’t have commented on it, but the small smile and nervous blush on Weiss’ face brought out the question. “You talking to somebody special over there?”

Weiss immediately flushed a deep red and threw her phone back into her pocket. “No, just a friend.”

“Is it that blonde guy? What was his name?” Winter asked and Weiss shook her head with a small laugh.

“Sun? No, not him. That...I’m not his type.” Weiss said, and Winter raised an eyebrow. 

“Not his type?”

“He’s gay, Winter.”

“Oh.”

Weiss laughed again, then took another sip of her coffee. “I was talking to my friend Ilia,” she admitted after a moment, “Blake introduced us, and we've gotten pretty close.” As she said it, that same small smile crossed her face, an expression that Winter might almost have called dreamy. 

“You like her?” Winter asked carefully, not wanting to push too far. As it turned out, pushing even a little bit was enough to make her sister gush about Ilia.

“Oh gods, she’s amazing. I love spending time with her, she’s so smart and funny and just...kind. She used to hate me, because I’m a Schnee,” Winter nodded grimly at the mention of it. The Schnee Dust Company was renowned for their poor treatment of Faunus. “But after a while, I guess I proved that I wasn’t like father. It was easy to talk to her after that, and I mean really easy. It’s like she just knows what to say, without me even having to explain what I’m feeling.”

Winter might not have been an expert of reading emotions, in fact as compared to most people she was next to clueless, but she could recognize the happy smile on Weiss’ face, the faraway twinkle in her eye. It was the same way that Winter looked when she talked about Robyn. “Have you asked her out yet?”

“No!” Weiss said, aghast, the happy smile banished in an instant. “I don’t know if she feels the same way about me, and I don’t want to jeopardize our friendship.”

“But if you did know…” Winter let the words trail off, letting her sister pick up the sentence if she wanted to. It was an out, an easy way for Weiss to change the subject if she liked.

“Oh gods, I’d ask her out immediately,” Weiss said, then slumped forwards with a sigh. “Gods, I’m as bad as Blake and Yang, aren’t I?”

“I have no idea what that means.”

“They-” Weiss started then let out an exasperated sigh. “They danced around dating for weeks. Hell, they  _ kissed _ and Yang still wasn’t sure if Blake liked her or not.”

“That’s...kind of pathetic,” Winter said slowly and Weiss nodded in agreement. “You’re not nearly that bad.”

“Thank you,” Weiss said, then suddenly she clammed up and looked away. “I...I guess I’m still not sure how to be around people. I mean, you remember how father was. He made you doubt everything anyone said.”

“I remember. He hasn’t tried to contact you has he?”

“Once, when I first moved to Vale. He offered to pay me if I came back home,” Weiss said and Winter let out a heavy sigh.

“That bastard,” she hissed and Weiss nodded in agreement again.

“I blocked him on everything after that. He hasn’t been able to reach me since.”

“Good.”

There was a long silence, then the conversation turned to other things, happier things. They talked about Weiss’ life in Vale, all the places she went, her favorite spots in the city, and how she was liking her apartment. They talked about life in the mountains, how Winter was preparing for the coming snow, if she had enough food, and so on. By the time they had gotten to talking about the proper way to prepare venison, the stew was ready and the two sisters dug in. The stew was hearty and filling, a rich, wonderful meal of meats and beans and all kinds of good things, perfect for a cold evening.

As the meal wound down the two sisters sat in front of the fire, quietly reading as the night passed them by. It had become their habit, their ritual, to read near one another when they were together. They got to spend some time together, without treading the razor thin wire that was a proper conversation. It was still easier to spend time joking or not talking at all.

After a while, Weiss looked up from her book and gasped in wonder. Winter followed her gaze to the large gray cat that had strolled over and laid down next to the fire, splaying out in the comforting heat. 

“Is this Misty? She’s so much bigger than I remember,” Weiss asked, placing her book aside and kneeling next to the cat. The last time that Weiss had seen the cat, she had been rail thin and active. A few months of being pampered by Winter and lazing around the house led her to put on a healthy amount of weight. 

“Yeah, that’s her. You can pet her, she won’t mind.”

Weiss reached out a tentative hand and stroked down Misty’s side and the cat let out a soft meow. At least, she meowed as best she was able, with Misty’s meows coming out more like a small “Aaahk!” or a squeak. Weiss cooed softly as she pet the cat, utterly enraptured in the moment. Winter took the opportunity to grab a picture or two, making a mental note to send them to Weiss once she got back to Vale. After a while, Misty’s side got too warm and she rolled over. One of her paws hooked around Weiss’ hand and she dragged the hand along with her, trapping Weiss’ hand against her belly. Weiss gasped again and Winter could see that she was almost shaking with excitement as she reached up to scratch Misty behind the ears, dragging out some rumbling purrs. They stayed there for another few hours until it got near to midnight, and Weiss excused herself to go to bed.

Winter stayed up a bit longer, finishing her book, then watched the fire die down. She let out a sigh. There was a lot to do tomorrow with the coming snow, and she had to be up early. Maybe she could get Weiss to help chop some wood or something. That’d be a good bonding activity. 

True to form, Winter was out splitting wood early the next morning. Despite the chill, she had forgone both a shirt and a jacket, wearing only a sports bra and some work pants. With every cleave of her axe, she made the wood pile she had spent so long building into proper pieces that she could use for her fireplace.

She took a small break, reaching up to wipe some sweat off her brow, when a familiar voice called out, “Hey Schnee.”

Winter couldn’t keep the smile from her face, not even turning around and just letting the strong, familiar arms wrap their way around her chest, holding her tight from behind. “Morning Robyn.” Now she did turn, and caught Robyn’s lips on her own. Gods, she had missed kissing Robyn, that familiar shape of her body and the taste of mint on her lip gloss, the only makeup that Robyn would be caught dead wearing. “Didn’t know you were coming.”

“What? Can’t I surprise my girlfriend?” Roby asked as Winter let her axe rest gently on ground and wriggled around so that the two were face to face. Winter smirked and gave Robyn a quick peck on the cheek.

“If all the surprises are like this, I won’t complain.”

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

They would have gone in for another kiss had someone not cleared their throat. The two women turned to see Weiss standing near the cabin, a duffel bag on the ground next to her. “Morning Weiss. This is Robyn,” Winter said, gesturing to the woman who was still wrapped around her like a vine.

“We met at the door,” Weiss said dryly, “It’s almost nine.”

“Yeah it is. I thought you were going to sleep all day,” Winter teased lightly, then Weiss raised her eyebrow expectantly. Winter searched her mind for a moment, then jolted as if electrocuted. “Oh, shit, your train!” She nearly threw herself away from Robyn before dashing towards the cabin for a shirt. “Throw your stuff in my truck, I’ll be right there!”

As Weiss began to load up her things, Robyn called out, “You mind if I stick around?”

“Feel free! Just don’t break anything this time!” Winter yelled back before she vanished into the house. Emerging a few minutes later in a flannel she dove into her truck and took Weiss to the train stop. They said their goodbyes in the truck while waiting for the train, and Weiss promised to let Winter know when she got back safely to Vale.

Winter waved from the truck as the train pulled away and was gratified to see Weiss waving back from the train car. The moment her sister was out of sight, she let out a long sigh, feeling the weight of worry landing back on her full force. Weiss was an adult, she could take care of herself, but that didn’t keep the thought of something happening to her from keeping Winter awake a night. And the thought of their father doing something…

Winter forced herself to let go of the steering wheel to keep from breaking it. She would just pretend that the logs back home were her father’s head. That always helped calm her down. 

Unfortunately, at the end of the two and a half hour drive back to her cabin, she would not be getting that luxury. In the intervening time between Winter leaving with Weiss and coming back in the afternoon, Robyn had taken the initiative and finished up enough logs to form a sizable stack of firewood. Winter let out a sigh as she hopped out of her truck, tucking the keys in the cup holder on the door. “You didn’t have to do that,” she called out as she approached, and Robyn turned with a broad smile.

“I got bored waiting. Figured I could make myself useful,” Robyn said with a shrug, then carried her latest efforts over the steadily growing pile. 

“Well now what am I going to do to calm down?” Winter asked. Robyn put the axe aside and bit her lip.

“Well…” she trailed off and Winter shook her head with a half hearted smile.

“Not right now, hon.”

“Sure,” Robyn said, then got back to work on the logs. Winter watched her for a few minutes, marveling at how easily Robyn worked. She had been living up here for most of her life, and the hard work needed to do so didn’t even faze her anymore. As Robyn placed another split log on the pile she glanced over at Winter, catching her frown before she could hide it away. “What’s wrong?”

Winter sighed and slumped against the side of her cabin, resting her head in her hands. Immediately, Robyn was at her side, kneeling next to her and giving her a reassuring hug. After a long while, Winter said, “I’m worried about Weiss. She’s...I know she’s an adult and she can handle everything, but I’m just...she means a lot to me.”

“She’s your sister, you have every right to be worried,” Robyn said softly and Winter nodded ruefully. “Your dad hasn’t tried to reach out to her, has he?” Winter had given Robyn and Fiona a brief history of her relationship with her father. She left out plenty of the gory details, all the nights without dinner and the weeks locked in her room, the arguments that could be heard throughout the manor. They didn’t need to know all that, it was enough that they knew it was something that kept her up at night. They couldn't understand, not really, but that wasn’t what Winter needed from them. They  _ cared _ . That was what mattered most.

“He did, once, and then she blocked him in every way she knew how. That’s not what I mean.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s…” Winter let out a sigh and sucked on her teeth for a moment in thought, “She’s still a kid, to me anyway. I can’t look at her without seeing the little girl I grew up with. The little girl that I-that I-” Winter’s voice failed her and her throat closed up as a surge of tears fought their way to the surface. Robyn wrapped her up tighter, and Winter leaned her head against Robyn’s shoulder in response. She couldn’t finish the phrase, couldn’t bring herself to say out loud what she knew she had done: ‘The little girl that I abandoned’.

“Winter, she wouldn’t come up to see you if she was still mad about that. Or, maybe she still is but she wants things to get better.” Winter tried as best she could to draw comfort from the words, but it was a half measure at best. Still, it dulled the harsh sting of her sadness, the knife twisting in her heart. They sat there in silence for a while, a silence only punctuated by a handful of choked sobs from Winter. A few years ago, before she had moved up to the mountains, the very thought of crying made Winter’s lip curl in disgust. It was a sign of weakness, of frailty, and she was anything but frail.

But then she had gotten away from her father, had started a life on her own, had met Robyn and Fiona. It had taken years for her to face her emotions head on, and sometimes even today she was still wary of the act, but she was getting better about it. It helped to have someone to lean on. Robyn had worked hard to make sure that Winter knew that she didn’t have to face everything alone. Crying had become cathartic, a necessary step in dealing with her feelings. It was a lesson that Winter still found herself learning, a bit more each day. 

“Can you stay the night?” Winter asked with a small sniffle, “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”

“Sure. I’ll just need to call Fiona and let her know,” Robyn said, but made no move to get up. It wasn’t until Winter began to squirm and stand that the two finally moved from the side of the cabin. Winter groaned as her legs reacted to finally stretching after hours of being crouched and had to lean on Robyn to lead her inside.

Once they were in the cabin, Winter slumped down at the kitchen table while Robyn busied herself making some coffee and calling Fiona. She explained, in vague detail, why she would be staying the night. Winter didn’t mind that her secret was out, she was open and honest with her girlfriends anyway. It didn’t much matter that Fiona knew that Winter had been crying, if anything the small woman would drive over that night to comfort her. 

Winter smiled as Misty hopped into her lap and curled up with a soft purr. She stroked the cat’s back and scratched under her chin, eliciting more purrs. At the sound, Winter’s heart began to calm down and she let out a soft sigh of relief.

A mug of coffee found its way to her and she took a grateful sip, still scratching Misty with the other hand. Robyn slid into the seat next to her and took her own sip of coffee, then added no less than six scoops of sugar to it. After another sip she nodded in satisfaction. “It’s May’s birthday in a week or so,” she said after a long moment of silence, “You should come up and celebrate with us.”

“I don’t have anything to give her,” Winter said, wishing that Robyn had told her a month ago and then cursing herself for not having the date memorized already.

“She’s not expecting anything,” Robyn said with a shrug, “just wants to spend some time with us. All of us,” she added, giving Winter a meaningful glance. 

Winter hummed softly in thought, the tone mixing and melding wonderfully with Misty’s purrs. “I probably can. I’ll just need to bag a deer to two and get them ready beforehand.”

“I’ll help you.”

“You hate hunting.”

“Yeah, but I love you more.” Winter scoffed at the cheesy line, looking up just in time to catch the flirty wink that Robyn shot her way. “I can help track them, anyway. You can do all the shooting.”

Winter wondered for a moment how Robyn survived in the mountains without hunting for her food, then remembered the enormous garden she had planted, full of all kinds of wonderful things. Robyn also knew how to forage for her food, surviving for days on nothing but what she could gather. For meat, Fiona was a trapper and the most common meal in their house was squirrel stew. 

“That sounds like a deal,” Winter said softly and Robyn nodded again. As the night wore on, Robyn got the fire started, pampering Winter to such a degree that Winter half considered throwing her out. As Winter has suspected, Fiona arrived as the sun began to dip behind the horizon. She immediately ran up to Winter and gave her a big hug, muttering that she should have  _ told _ them that this might happen, they could’ve been here all morning. Winter laughed softly and nuzzled her head against the smaller woman.

Despite the tears from earlier and the worry that still plagued her heart, Winter was able to sleep that night. Laying in bed with two amazing women, Fiona curled into a ball between her and Robyn, it was easy to fall asleep. She was safe, and Weiss had plenty of friends who would be looking out for her. Winter vowed to visit Vale sooner rather than later and with that, she finally dozed off into a peaceful slumber.


	2. Day to Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a modern au, Yang and Blake are in love and living together, dealing with all the troubles that come from modern life.

“I can’t believe this,” Blake grumbled, staring up at her phone as she lay in bed. Yang shifted slightly, tucking her arms around Blake a bit more securely before leaning in.

“What’s up?” she asked and Blake tilted her phone to show her the screen. On it was a headline that read ‘Phone Lines Run Dry: Constituents complain of slow phone lines after Blake Belladonna gives out office number to neighboring counties’. 

“After all the work I’ve done, everything I’ve pushed for to make Humans and Faunus equal in Vale, all they can focus on is the phones. I mean, this isn’t even the only article!  _ Vale Times _ ,  _ Beacon Herald _ , and even the  _ Atlas Enquirerer _ are all running stories about it, big stories.” Blake sunk back into bed, letting her arm fall and drape across Yang’s waist. She sighed as she turned to face her lover, finding those lilac eyes so full of understanding and love, like they always were. Why she tortured herself by looking at her phone first thing in the morning, she never knew. A much better view was always right beside her. 

“They just want to make it  _ seem _ like you’re doing nothing,” Yang said with a small shrug, “It’s all sensationalized anyway. They don’t report on us too kindly either.”

Blake nodded slowly, “True. Instead of a pair of activists they just see a young politician who’s too dumb to know when to stop and a lingerie model.” It still brought a smile to her face to think of how they’d met in the streets during a Fanus Rights protest. They had been leading two columns of the same protest and quite literally ran into each other in their hurry to form the two groups into a single, massive showing of activism. Blake didn’t believe in love at first sight, not really, but seeing that gorgeous blonde offer a hand to help her up with a winning smile had almost been enough to change her mind. As their mutual friend Weiss said every time the story was brought up, the rest was history.

“At least the Faunus owned papers are better about it,” Yang said, burying her head into the crook of Blake’s neck. Blake gasped as she felt Yang nip lightly at her collar bone and suppressed a shudder of delight. No matter what happened, Yang always knew how to get Blake to forget about her troubles, at least for a little while. 

“Yeah,” Blake breathed out, feeling Yang pepper more kisses along her neck, “Th-they’re great about it. It’s just a shame that nobody reads them.”

The kisses abated a hair and Yang let out a sigh. “People  _ should  _ read them,” she said firmly, and Blake finally rolled over entirely, snuggling close so there was no more room between them. Promoting Faunus owned businesses, particularly news sources, had been part of Yang’s platform for years. Everything she owned was Faunus made, even the lingerie she modeled was made by Faunus designers. Slowly it was having an effect on people who followed her closely, but most people remained uninterested or worse uncaring. 

“I know, hon,” Blake said softly, reaching up and gently tracing down Yang’s cheek. The simple motion brought a smile to Yang’s lips, regardless of her diminished enthusiasm. “They will, one day. People will start listening to you, to us.”

“People would rather just jack it to me than listen to me,” Yang grumbled, nestling against Blake’s body and returning to kissing her neck. Blake smiled through the gasp of surprise and said,

“At least they’re paying rent for us. Every one of those gigs is more than enough for this place.” It was a weak argument, but it was the one that Yang had been using herself when they’d met. Yang had never done anything more than lingerie and a few swimsuit shoots with scandalously small attire, and she’d shrugged when Blake questioned her feelings on it. The more people who bought the images, for whatever reason, the more gigs she got and the easier it was to live the life she really wanted. Of course, her career had nearly collapsed when she had spoken up about Faunus rights, but a few Faunus owned magazines and websites had picked her up where the Human owned ones left off. Her popularity had only diminished slightly but, by Yang’s own estimation, she was doing more work now than she ever had beforehand. “Besides, how do you think I knew who you were?” Blake asked, a small, devious smile spreading across her face.

Yang leaned back suddenly, a playful shock wafting across her eyes. “Oh really? I thought you knew who I was cause of my activism, but if you just know me cause of my body…”

“It’s a nice body,” Blake said with a shrug, “but I like the heart and mind behind it better.”

“Babe!” Yang groaned, flopping onto the bed, “I was going to try and seduce you, but now I just feel soft! And delicate!”

“It’s a weekday, hon,” Blake smirked, “I can’t spend  _ all _ day in bed with you.”

“Why not?” Yang asked, tracing a finger down Blake’s collar bone and towards her breasts, which made Blake’s breath hitch. 

“I’m-I’m a busy woman. And you know I can never think straight after we fuck.”

“There’s nothing straight about you, Blake,” Yang murmured and Blake burst into laughter, doubling over at the joke. It wasn’t Yang’s best joke, nor even terribly funny, but it felt good to laugh. It was easy to laugh around Yang, Blake just felt so happy with her that laughter was a natural part of her life these days. 

“You’re one to talk. Aren’t you the first lesbian to win Miss Vale?” Blake teased slightly and Yang nodded ruefully.

“Gods, I hated that competition. The models were great but the judges…” Yang made a disgusted face and shook her head as though to clear it of bad memories. The leachery of the judges for that particular beauty pageant was well known, and had led to the pageant being shut down only a few years after Yang had won. There was talk of restarting it, and Yang had been offered the chance to judge it if she liked, but that was a problem for another day. Right now, Blake’s phone began going off. 

“It’s Pyrrha,” she said with a tired sigh. She’d only been awake for twenty minutes, but already she wanted nothing more than to curl up with her loving girlfriend and fall back asleep. Instead, she would answer the phone and get back to work. Politics never stopped, after all, and therefore neither could she. 

As Blake answered the phone, Yang gently began to get up out of bed and planted a kiss on Blake’s shoulder. “I’ll get you some tea. You working from home today?”

“No, there’s a hearing I have to go to. We’re finally addressing the sewage backfill downtown,” Blake said, leaning into the kiss as much as she could without falling over. “Morning Pyrrha,” she said into the phone, then glanced over her shoulder at Yang. “What about you, what’re your plans for today?”

“Just editing photos for my gallery and shooting a new set in the afternoon,” Yang said with a shrug. Her gallery was, in reality, a series of photo collections housed online, featuring Yang in various outfits, a publicly accessible portfolio. Blake particularly enjoyed the set where she had cosplayed  _ Ninjas of Love _ . “I’ll take care of dinner tonight.”

“You don’t have to, it’s my turn,” Blake protested, then said into the phone, “Just a moment, there’s bad reception right now.” Pyrrha was no fool and absolutely knew that Blake was taking time with Yang, but was far too polite to call her out.

“You’ll be busy today, I don’t want to stress you out any more than the hearing will.”

“It’s just sewers, I won’t be  _ that _ stressed.”

“Is Whitley going to be there?”

Blake sighed and nodded ruefully, which only made Yang’s determined smile grow.

“I’ll take care of dinner. Go save the world, Miss Congresswoman.” 

Whatever witty retort Blake might have come up with was cut off by Pyrrha, who had finally listened to enough soft banter from the two lovers. Blake bit back a sigh as Yang finally got out of bed, already missing her touch. Just a few long, grueling hours of boring logistical discussion and Blake would be back here with the woman she loved. It was only a matter of time. 

Blake pushed through the door into the apartment she shared with Yang with a heavy sigh. It had been a long day, one that had given her a headache without much trouble. The downtown sewer systems were ancient and needed updating. Everyone knew it, even the people loyal to Whitley Schnee had voted in favor of it. Most of that day had been spent discussing what to name the project, which was a ridiculous thing but Whitley wanted his name on everything. With the collapse of the Schnee Dust Company, it was probably the only thing he had left. “Babe, I’m home!”

“Just a minute!” Yang yelled back, almost certainly from her office. Half photography studio, half tech lab, Yang’s office was her pride and joy. Most of the equipment were things she had built herself, with the help of her sister Ruby on some of the more intricate parts. Then again, Blake thought with a dreamy smile, Yang knew a lot when it came to being  _ intricate _ . 

Settling down in one of the chairs by the kitchen island, which also doubled as their dining room table, Blake hummed softly. The delicious smell of a ziti bake wafted around the kitchen, smothered in cheese and butter in the traditional Patch style. Yang was also an excellent cook, and Blake found herself wondering how she had managed to wind up with someone so perfect. 

“Hey babe,” Yang said as she stepped into the kitchen and Blake’s jaw dropped. She was dressed in some of the most revealing attire she’d ever worn, and that was saying something. Little more than a few strips of cloth, the lingerie Yang sported today was a perfect compliment for her lilac eyes and showed off everything wonderful about her body, from her bountiful curves to her incredible muscles. In the right light, such as the light from the kitchen, it was also entirely see through. Yang followed Blake’s eyes to her exposed breast and smirked. “Don’t worry, it looks solid in the light from the studio.”

“I-I’m not-you-” Blake stammered, mentally kicking herself for not being able to form a sentence. It took a lot to make Blake Belladonna speechless, but Yang could manage it with such remarkable ease it was like second nature to her. Yang grinned deviously and strutted towards Blake, making Blake’s throat run dry. That was nothing compared to how Blake felt her entire body heat up as Yang straddled her lap and began to rub her shoulders.

“What’s up, babe? Long day?”

Blake could only make a strangled noise of agreement, her eyes raking across Yang, unable to decide which part of her was most beautiful. It was a common problem for Blake, being overwhelmed by Yang’s beauty, and one that she had no counter for. Of course, she had gotten good,  _ very _ good, at having the same effect on Yang but right now the ball was firmly in Yang’s court. 

“Don’t worry, Blake, I’ll help you relax,” Yang moaned out, unbuttoning Blake’s shirt and popping open her collar. Blake’s breathing became fast and heavy, her mind twirling and dancing with the sheer possibilities that such a night with Yang could bring. Between the two of them, there were always a few surprises. 

Then the timer for the ziti bake when off and Yang snorted with laughter. The break in the moment brought Blake back to her senses and she started to laugh too, shaking her head in disbelief. The timing of their lives was a masterpiece sometimes, insofar as a masterpiece kept them both from spending all day wrapped up with one another in bed. Or on the couch. Or maybe the counter. Blake was too addled to really care. And after that they could just snuggle up and watch a movie, or just talk and drink one another in…gods, it’d be so good.

But that could come later, preferably lasting the entire weekend. As for now, Blake couldn't help but smirk at the absurdity of Yang leaning into a hot oven in lingerie. She emerged with the ziti bake, the top bubbling with cheese and a beautiful golden brown. As Yang placed it on the island, she let out a satisfied sigh. "Perfect. Absolutely perfect."

"So's the woman who made it," Blake said with a dopey smile, still a bit frazzled from Yang a moment earlier.

"Charmer," Yang said with a small smirk. "At least you're out there making change happen, I just push my tits together for money."

"It's a noble profession," Blake said with a solemn nod as she stood to grab them plates. 

"Nothing more noble than dressing up as sexy ninjas and trying to seduce a camera," Yang snorted, plopping a healthy serving of ziti bake on each plate.

"You love it."

"I do."

Blake smiled and leaned across the island to plant a small kiss on Yang's cheek. The blonde hummed happily and leaned into the kiss, earning her another. "If you still want to help me relax…" Blake trailed off meaningfully and Yang smiled at her as she twirled cheese around her fork.

"What kind of relaxation? Should I get my harness or some ice cream?"

"We have ice cream?" Blake asked excitedly and Yang nodded.

"Double chocolate chunk delight. Your favorite."

"Babe, you are...why are you so perfect?" Blake asked, furrowing her brow as though to study her partner better.

"I'm pretty sure my therapist can answer that for you," Yang said dryly and they both laughed. "I got myself some moose tracks too."

Blake took a big bite of her ziti bake, almost letting out a moan of delight at how good it tasted. "What'd I do to deserve you?"

It took a moment for Blake to realize that Yang was smiling gently at her, considering her answer. "You're you, Blake. You're passionate, kind, intelligent, and brave. You're so fucking brave. How could I not fall for you?" Yang's smile turned into a smirk and she added, "Even if you did all the falling the first time we met."

Blake groaned and leaned heavily onto one hand, shoveling ziti bake into her mouth. "At least I was looking where I was going."

"It was an exciting moment! I was distracted," Yang protested and Blake rolled her eyes. This was hardly the first time they'd gone back and forth about this, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. 

"Right," Blake drawled and Yang scowled in mock offense, "I think tonight is an ice cream night."

"Okay," Yang said with a nod of agreement, "I'll just have to change into some sweats."

"Do you have to?" Blake pouted and Yang laughed.

"I'd love to. This stuff looks good, but it chafes like a motherfucker."

Blake let out a hiss of empathy. "Sweats sound fine."

Yang laughed again and the two returned to their dinner until Yang let out an “Oh!” of realization. “I almost forgot to tell you!” she said, almost spewing cheese and noodles across the island. She swallowed hard and took a big sip of water before saying, “I got the gig with Velveteen Fashions!” 

“You did?” Blake asked, before bolting out of her chair to hug Yang. “That’s awesome!” Velveteen Fashions, the premier Faunus owned fashion boutique in Vale, had been Yang’s goal for years. They were popular across Remnant and boasted more top tier designers than some Kingdoms. 

“I couldn’t believe it at first! I got an email about it halfway through my shoot and I was a sobbing mess,” Yang said, hugging Blake to herself tightly, “I had to redo my makeup twice. But they’re planning on doing a lingerie and a sportswear shoot! I’m having a call with her next week.”

“Her?”

“Velvet! The owner!” 

“Oh my gods!” Blake gasped in amazement, “You’re talking to  _ her _ ?” Velvet Scarlatina, as everyone knew, was one of the most brilliant business women in the world and a huge advocate for Faunus rights. Blake had been to see her speak more than once.

“Yep!” Yang nodded happily, “And the email hinted that it might be some new designs by Coco Adel, too.”

This was all too much at once for Blake and she collapsed into Yang’s lap, kissing her furiously. “I’m so proud of you!”

Yang returned the kiss with a beautiful passion, wrapping her arms around Blake’s waist and hoisting her up so she was sitting comfortably. “I couldn’t have done it without you, babe,’ she whispered into Blake’s lips, so quietly that Blake almost didn’t hear her.

“Without me? No, no, this is all you,” Blake insisted, but Yang shook her head firmly.

“I mean that, Blake. I probably would’ve given up a while ago if it wasn’t for you. You...inspire me.”

Blake had heard a lot of people say she was an inspiration before. She’d been quoted across Remnant and her speeches had been paraphrased at dozens of commencements. It was an honor, of course, to be such a recognized champion of Fanus rights, but to hear Yang say it was entirely different. It made Blake’s heart soar and a heavy blush appear on her cheeks.

“I inspire you?”

“Yeah.”

Blake smiled softly and kissed Yang again, slow and tender this time instead of heavy and wanting. “I’m glad,” she murmured, “That’s all I want, to help people try to be better versions of themselves.”

“And to kick Jaqcues Schnee’s ass,” Yang said dryly and Blake giggled, burying her face into Yang’s neck. 

“Yeah, but everybody wants that. Even Weiss wants that,” Blake said and Yang snorted. “I wish I’d known about the deal though, I’d’ve gotten some flowers or something.”

“It’s okay. Ice cream and bad movies are good enough for me,” Yang whispered and Blake sighed happily. There was a long moment of silence and then Yang murmured, “Look at us. Changing the world one council meeting and centerfold at a time.”

“We’re a long way from Patch and Kuo Kuana, aren’t we?” Blake asked softly and Yang shrugged.

“We are, but I don’t mind. Honestly...I don’t miss Patch that much. I miss Ruby and dad, but living here? With you?” Her gaze softened and Blake could see the boundless, unending love that resided there and felt it reflected in herself. “I wouldn’t trade this for the world.”

Normally, Blake was intentioned and eloquent. She could speak so well and so beautifully that people said she was a once in a millennia kind of speech giver. Right now, she didn’t need all those fancy words. Simpler ones would do. “Me too,” was all she said. It was all she needed to say.

Blake and Yang kissed again, savoring one another and their closeness. Later they would wind up under the covers in bed, watching bad movies and eating ice cream out of the container. And after that? Then, they would sleep, deep in the welling happiness and joy that always came from spending time together. 

Blake never felt happier than when she was with Yang. It was a simple, pure kind of love that they shared. It was everything either of them needed to be happy. 

Well, Blake thought as she drifted off that night, maybe some more ice cream wouldn’t be too bad either. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Give the bees their happy ending, that's all I need.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	3. The Garden Where We Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Childhood friends Blake and Yang are trying to enjoy their last day together before Blake moves to Menagerie.  
> "Of course not. I would never forget my best friend."  
> "Promise?"

Waves crashed against the hull as the sloop carved a path through the waves. The wind whipped and howled overhead, filling the billowing sails and hurtling the ship forwards across the endless ocean. Sea spray flashed up and splattered over the crew, forcing the captain to take a small step back and blink hard to clear her eyes. She snapped her gaze up, amber eyes raking across the horizon and searching for their next port of call. With a frown, she glanced to her right, towards the woman keeping an eye on the crew.

“First Mate Goldilocks!” the captain shouted and the woman turned, golden hair flowing and shimmering as she did so, her lilac eyes calm and experienced. 

“Aye, Captain?” she asked, throwing up a quick salute.

“We should reach the next port by the end of the day. I want the crew ship shape and ready for docking an hour before,” Captain Catfish ordered and First Mate Goldilocks nodded curtly. 

“I’ll see it done, ma’am. Any news on our quarry?”

“None, so far. The birds have yet to return with a message from the governor. I had hoped we’d be able to form a plan, but the Flaming Maiden might have escaped us again,” Captain Catfish said with a sour expression and First Mate Goldilocks grimaced.

“We’ll catch her captain. You have the best crew in the world. Your family won’t go unavenged.” Goldilocks reached out a hand and gave Captain Catfish’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze, which brought an uncharacteristic smile to the captain’s face. 

“I certainly have the best first mate,” she said and Goldilocks snorted derisively.

“Flattery isn’t becoming of one of Her Majesty’s finest.”

“Neither is the captain and first mate being best friends from before the navy. Nepotism isn’t becoming either, but Her Majesty has never had a problem with that.”

“Captain!” Goldilocks hissed, throwing an arm around the captain’s shoulders and turning so they were facing away from the crew. “That’s treason! If word of that gets out, the queen will have your head.”

“It’s true, is what it is,” Captain Catfish growled, glaring at the deck, “She let her sister become the High Magus and now we have to hunt her down. This could’ve all been avoided if Her Majesty didn’t favor her family so much, then  _ my _ family might still be alive. Treason or no, I’m hunting her down and avenging my family.”

“You have to watch your tone, Captain,” Goldilocks whispered, “The crew is still more loyal to the crown than to you, we can’t go rogue yet.”

“We?”

“Well, I’m coming with you,” Goldilocks said with a small shrug, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, “You didn’t think I joined the navy out of patriotism, did you?”

That made Captain Catfish laugh and she felt a warm well of happiness fill her body. “I would never accuse you of being a patriot.”

“Nor should you,” Goldilocks said with a wink. “Give it a little more time, we’ll have her. And then we can form our own crew, with people we choose.” That was the dream, wasn’t it? To captain a ship of people that she didn’t need to hire through the official naval office, to conquer the waves the way she wanted instead of at the order of a long defunct monarchy. They would amass wealth, prestige, lands, and Captain Catfish wanted to do all of it with her best friend and first mate Goldilocks by her side. One day, one day soon, that dream would become a rea-

“Blake! Come on sweetie, we have to go!”

Blake sighed and scuffed her foot against the playscape, feeling Yang tighten her grip around her shoulders. Suddenly, instead of being a proud captain of a ship with her first mate by her side, she was back to being a nine year old kid with her best friend on a playground. Other children still ran around, laughing and playing, but she and Yang had been brought out of their playtime by Blake’s mother. Blake didn’t  _ want _ to go, she wanted to be Captain Catfish for a few more hours. But her mother, sitting on a bench on the edge of the park with Yang’s mother, Summer, would have none of that. They were on a schedule, after all. 

“Yang!” Summer called out, waving them over, “Sunflower, we need to say goodbye to Blake and Kali!”

That made Blake’s breath hitch. That’s right, they were saying goodbye. Nine years of living across the street from her best friend were coming to an end, weren’t they? Blake hadn’t really understood what her mother was saying when she had told the girl that they were moving from Vale to Menagerie. At first, Blake had just thought they were moving down the street, or a town over, until her mother had pointed their new home out on a map. There was an entire ocean in the way, a blue wall between her and Yang. Gods, they’d known each other forever and...now what?

“You don’t  _ have _ to go,” Yang said softly and Blake looked over at her, finding her best friend’s usual beaming smile replaced by a horrible sadness. “I could hide you in my closet or in the basement or something.”

“We tried that Yang. Ruby ruined it,” Blake grumbled, remembering the time that she had tried to stay over Yang’s house in secret. Sure, Yang’s little sister Ruby had just wanted to play with them but they had come so close to pulling it off. Blake still remembered the scolding she’d gotten, how scared her mother had been. She had just wanted to hang out with Yang a bit longer. 

“Hmph,” Yang grunted, then looked up as Kali yelled,

“Blake! Yang! It’s time to go!”

“You’re gonna be back, right?” Yang asked, and Blake looked away, uncertainty swirling in her mind. 

“I wanna,” she said softly and Yang sighed, then began to lead them down the playscape steps, her arm still around Blake’s shoulders. As they approached their mothers, the two older women were in deep conversation, laughing and joking as though they weren’t about to get onto a plane and be on two different continents within an hour. Or, you know, however long it took to fly to Menagerie.

“...so nice we got this last playdate,” Summer was saying and Kali nodded happily.

“It was. They’re so cute together!” Kali clasped Summer’s hands in her own, the two smiling broadly at one another. For as close as Blake and Yang were, their mothers were only acquaintances, brought together by their own children. “I am going to miss these days.”

“Me too, Kali,” Summer said, though the sadness in her tone was flat and noncommittal. No doubt she would miss Kali, but it was nothing compared to the heartbreak their daughters were experiencing. 

Blake followed her mother’s example and clasped Yang’s hand in her own, pudgy fingers entwining and twisting together as they stared into one another’s eyes. Yang, always energetic and passionate, never slowing down for a moment, was at a loss for words. Blake could see tears welling up in her eyes and felt her own eyes beginning to water, her ears drooping atop her head. As the first fat teardrop fell down Yang’s cheek, Blake reached into her back pocket, pulling out the purple handkerchief her mother had given her years ago. She gently reached up and wiped away Yang’s tears, and Yang placed her hand lightly on Blake’s, resting it there as Blake began to dry Yang’s eyes. 

Their mothers were chatting about phone numbers and emails, while Yang had a much more serious question. “You’re not gonna forget me, right?” The finality of their situation hadn’t escaped either of them. 

“Of course not,” Blake whispered and Yang forced a small smile onto her face. Blake’s hand dropped away and Yang grabbed at the handkerchief, connecting them through the cloth. “I would never forget about my best friend.”

“Promise?” Yang asked softly. Blake nodded firmly, feeling a small piece of herself committing fully to the promise even if she had no idea how she would keep it.

“I promise,” she said, pressing the handkerchief into Yang’s hand. “Keep it.”

“It’s yours.”

“It’s yours now.”

“I-” Yang started to say, then a heaving sob welled up in her chest and she flung her arms around Blake. Blake buried her face into Yang’s neck, feeling the shuddering breaths of her friend. 

“Yang?” Summer asked, and the two children refused to look over. “Sunflower, are you ready to go?”

“Fuck no,” Yang grumbled and Blake giggled, loud enough to cover up the bad word. Yang had learned it from Summer, but that didn’t mean her mother liked hearing the nine year old swear.

“Come on, Blake. Your father’s waiting for us,” Kali said softly, but it wasn’t until Summer came over and gently took Yang’s hand that the two finally separated. Yang glanced over her shoulder at Blake as she was led away and waved, the handkerchief still firmly in her grip. Blake waved back, pumping her arm as hard as it would go, and then Yang and Summer were hidden behind a row of parked cars.

Kali led Blake back to their car and buckled her into the back seat, already talking excitedly about their new home. “Just think, Blake! There will be all kinds of new people to meet, places to play, new friends to make. You’ll love it!” Blake bit back shouting at her mother, yelling that she didn’t  _ want _ to meet new friends, she  _ wanted _ to stay here with Yang. But that wouldn't do any good, and besides she had thrown that tantrum a week ago. Plans hadn’t changed, no matter how much she screamed. 

Within an hour, they were all in the airport with the last of their bags. Most of their things had been sent over to their new house over the course of the last week, and so Blake was left with her backpack and a small stuffed golden dragon. She tried to smile as she looked at it, the purple eyes gleaming cleverly in the fluorescent light. It had been a birthday gift from Yang after all, on Blake’s seventh birthday. All the sight did now was make her cry. 

She cried herself to sleep on the long flight to Menagerie. Today was, without a doubt, the worst day in Blake’s life. 

“Fuck off, Nora,” a now adult Yang groaned as her friend cackled madly, an armful of free samples tucked in her shirt. “You’re gonna get caught one of these days.”

“No I’m not,” Nora protested, as she began to shovel bite sized chocolates into her mouth. Whatever she said next was unintelligible, but Yang knew it was probably something not worth repeating. 

The Vale National Mall was gigantic, six stories of shops and kiosks of all kinds. Yang liked to go there on the weekends, just to get her mind off the inevitable return to work on Monday. She didn’t mind her job, being a personal trainer was all kinds of fun, but it was nice to get out on her own. Well, almost on her own.

“You’re just mad cause that barista didn’t flirt with you,” Nora said matter of factly and Yang rolled her eyes. 

“Pyrrha has a boyfriend, Nora, I wasn’t even flirting with her.”

“You totally were!”

“I wouldn’t do that, c’mon,” Yang said, then grunted as someone ran into her. She tumbled to the floor, landing heavily on her rump with a solid thud. She grumbled to herself, looking around to find whoever had done that. She wasn’t planning on doing anything, just wanted a face to blame for her misfortune. Someone stuck a hand in her face, and it certainly wasn’t Nora as her hands were still full. Yang grabbed the hand gratefully and let the person haul her to her feet. She absentmindedly patted her back pocket as soon as she was able, letting out a sigh of relief as she found the purple handkerchief still tucked there, a small corner hanging out. “Thanks,” she said as she finally got to her feet, looking up to see the face of whoever was helping her up.

“It’s no problem, I should’ve been watching where I was going,” the woman said, smiling apologetically. “I really am sorry,” she said, her amber eyes narrowing as she waited for Yang’s response.

“It’s a crowded mall, it’s bound to happen,” Yang said, giving the woman a once over. She was beautiful, a bob of black hair framing a gorgeous face with piercing amber eyes and cat ears atop her head. She was dressed in casual clothes, and had one hand on her hip in a kind of subtle confidence that made Yang feel like she was used to standing up for herself. Yang furrowed her brow as she saw the woman. Something about her was so...familiar. 

The woman was giving her a once over as well, her eyes stopping as she saw the sleeve on Yang’s right arm, tied off around her stump. Then her eyes met Yang’s and Yang felt a wave of emotion, almost a physical force, pound through her body like a freight train. The woman’s eyes went wide and she gasped, her mouth falling open as she looked at Yang. “Oh my gods.”

Yang tried to say something, anything, but no words were coming. She was only aware of the woman in front of her, desperately trying to form her own sentence and of Nora, who was shifting awkwardly from foot to foot next to them. Whatever Yang was going to say, the woman was faster.

“Yang?” she whispered and it was like a fog had been lifted from Yang’s mind.

“Blake!” she cried out, tears springing unbidden from her eyes. Blake let out a strangled cry and hurled herself at Yang, arms wrapping around her like a vice. Yang hugged Blake as tightly as she could, feeling shuddering sobs wracking her body as she did so. “You-you didn’t forget!”

“Of course not,” Blake murmured, her tears falling onto Yang’s chest, “I would never forget my best friend.”

“You promised.”

“I kept it.”

The two leaned back to look at one another again, drinking each other in like a cold drink of water on a scorching day. Blake’s eyes flickered back to Yang’s arm and she frowned.

“Yang-”

“I’ll explain it,” Yang said hurriedly, “Fuck, I’ll explain everything. Are-are you free? Can you stop for coffee or something?”

Blake smiled through her tears and nodded firmly. “I’ll make time. Right now?”

“Please,” Yang managed to say, then started as she finally remembered Nora was there. “Oh, shit, Blake this is Nora, Nora this is Blake.”

“Hi Blake!” Nora said, all smiles now that she was involved in the conversation again, “I hate to run, but my boyfriend needs some advice on fashion. He’s useless in a clothing store, I swear.”

Yang furrowed her brow and said, “But Ren’s out of to-”

“And you two clearly have a lot to catch up on!” Nora continued, as though she hadn’t even heard Yang’s interjection. “I’ll catch you later, Yang!” With that, she scurried away trailing chocolates behind her like a thieving mouse. Yang blinked heavily, unsure of what to do next until Blake let out a sigh. She turned to look at her, finding Blake gazing up at her with kind, gentle eyes. Gods, Yang was taller than Blake now. They’d been the same height at nine years old, now they were both so much...well, older.

“So,” Blake said.

“So,” Yang said, “Coffee?”

“Sure. They do tea, right?”

“Of course.”

“Thank the gods,” Blake said with a small groan, “I’ve been craving tea since I moved back last week.”

That made Yang balk and she stammered, “M-moved back?”

“I’ll explain over coffee,” Blake murmured, reaching out and gently grabbing Yang’s hand. She glanced up uncertainly and Yang couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face.

“Fuck. I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, First Mate Goldilocks.”

Yang laughed, long and loud, echoing around the mall and drawing the eyes of everyone around them. But Yang didn’t care about all that, all the prying eyes in the world wouldn’t keep her from being the happiest woman in Remnant right now. “Well, c’mon Captain Catfish. We’ve got catching up to do.” Yang entwined her fingers with Blake’s and Blake gave her a squeeze. With that, the two set off deeper into the mall to find coffee and tea. 

Today was, without a doubt, the best day in Yang’s life. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the game/end credits from the game "The Gardens Between"  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	4. Aftermath of a Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the modern AU from Chapter One, Yang and Blake sit down with their respective roommates to talk about the Bees' first date.

“Ruby!” Yang exclaimed, slamming open the door to their dorm. Ruby shrieked from her room and Yang heard the sound of her spilling something, followed by a yelp of

“Shit!” Yang slammed the door behind her just as quickly as she had opened it, walking right through the open door to Ruby’s room and stepping over her sister, who was busy wiping up spilled water. She began to pace back and forth in front of Ruby’s bed, muttering to herself until she turned and saw her sister pouting at her from the floor. “You made me spill water on myself!”

“Wha-Sorry, I’m just-I-” Yang let out a groan of exasperation, “I didn’t mean to, I’ve just-I went out with Blake, right?”

“Yeah, you’ve done nothing but worry about it for a week,” Ruby said flatly, picking up her paper towels and tossing them in the small trash can she kept in her room. Yang nodded quickly, not catching the hint of annoyance in her sister’s voice.

“So we went out to Old Man Shopkeep’s, that noodle place like a mile from here?” Yang said, and Ruby opened her mouth to respond, only to roll her eyes as she saw that Yang wasn’t stopping, her mouth going a mile a minute. “And it was great! Blake was so happy and she was smiling and laughing and she had that beanie on, that really cute purple one that brings out her eyes and makes them shine like gems, you know?” Yang continued, waving her arms for emphasis and Ruby nodded slowly, “And I was like, ‘Oh, you look great!’ and she kinda smirked and I didn’t know if that was good or bad but she didn’t say anything about it, so I think it was bad? I dunno, either way she looked fucking amazing and you  _ know _ I get flustered around Blake normally, so I was a goner tonight.” Ruby nodded slowly again, leaning on her desk chair and waiting for Yang to give her a chance to speak, unaware that a very similar conversation was going on just above their heads.

“And Yang was in that flannel, you know, the one where she ties it around her stomach and it shows her abs?” Blake said, positively bouncing in her seat while Ilia listened, leaning against the wall. “And she complimented my look, she said that I looked good, great even!”

Ilia took a long breath and raised an eyebrow, catching Blake’s anxious gaze as she waited for a response. “And what did you say back?”

“I didn’t! I got tongue tied because she was so pretty and she was complimenting me!” Blake confessed, burying her head in her hands. “I didn’t know what to do!”

“Blake,” Ilia said with a groan, rubbing her temples lightly as she tried to understand her best friend, “I love you. You know this.”

“Mmhmm,” Blake grunted into her hands.

“You’re one of the smartest, kindest, most mature people I’ve ever met,” Ilia continued and Blake added in a quick,

“Thanks Ilia,”

“But someday you’re going to have to admit that you’re a godsdammed  _ moron _ !” Ilia finished and Blake snapped upright, staring at her friend, aghast.

“W-what?” Blake stammered and Ilia rolled her eyes.

“The hottest woman you’ve ever met, who you’re clearly into and who’s clearly into you, gives you a compliment and you just don’t say anything?” 

Blake sputtered for a moment then folded her arms across her chest with a huff. “I didn’t mean to be like that. You just said that she’s the hottest woman I’ve ever met, what the fuck was I supposed to do?”

“Say something to her, anything,” Ruby groaned, now facedown on her desk, tired of watching Yang fret over the possibility of texting Blake about that night. “Just say you enjoyed tonight and you wanna see her again. Hell, you’re gonna see her again cause you have class with her in two days.” Ruby didn’t need to look up to see her sister’s face go pale, the gasp was enough. She felt a new presence next to her and peeked out of the corner of her eye to see Weiss standing there, glaring at Yang.

“Yang Xiao Long,” she said firmly, “if you’re sitting there, pretending that you don’t know that tonight was a date or that Blake isn’t into you, I will personally throw you out of a window.”

“But what if-” Yang tried to protest but Weiss wasn’t having it.

“You two have been making heart eyes at each other for months now. This was clearly a date, you called it a date yourself earlier this week. You cannot possibly be this dense, Yang.”

“She could be,” Ruby grumbled and Yang let out a ‘Hey!’ in offense which made Ruby laugh.

Weiss scoffed and met Yang’s gaze, icy blue meeting worried lilac. “Please tell me it’s not any worse than this. Please tell me that the fact that it was a date is all the reason you need to worry about texting her right now.”

Yang scratched the back of her head awkwardly and murmured, “Well...we kinda...kissed.”

“What?” Ruby shrieked.

“You  _ kissed _ ?” Weiss shouted and Yang nodded slowly, a sheepish smile on her face.

“I mean, yeah, but, like...does that mean that she likes me?”

“What do you  _ mean _ , ‘does that mean she likes me’?” Ilia all but shouted, staring in wide eyed, almost dumbfounded horror at her best friend, who was currently curled up on her bed and staring at her phone. 

“It was a just a kiss, Ilia,” Blake said, forcing a casual tone. “People kiss all the time without being in a relationship.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“Okay,” Ilia said, taking a challenging step forwards, “kiss me.”

“Wh-what?” Blake exclaimed, her jaw dropping open for the second time that night.

“You said people do it all the time without being in a relationship,” Ilia said with a shrug, “We’re not in a relationship. Kiss me.”

“I-I can’t just-We’re not-” Blake let out a groan of frustration and buried her face into a pillow, letting out a scream. “Fine! I wanna date Yang! I think we are dating now! We kissed and I wanna kiss her again! Is that what you want to hear?”

“That’s exactly what I want to hear,” Ilia said with a smug smile, “Text her. Tell her that you want to see her.”

“Now?”

“No, like see her tomorrow or something!”

Yang’s phone went off and she nearly leapt out of her skin, fumbling to keep her phone in hand. “Oh fuck, oh fuck, she texted me!”

“What’d she say?” Weiss asked, pushing past Ruby and walking up to Yang, “Open it, you dolt!”

Yang opened the text and read it out loud, “Hey Yang! I just wanted to let you know that I loved tonight and I can’t want to see you tomorrow.” There was a long beat of silence, then Yang squealed, “What do I do?”

“Text her back,” Weiss groaned, nearly slapping herself in the face, “Tell her that you’re excited to see her tomorrow. Go get lunch at the cafe together or something, I don’t know.” Yang sucked on her teeth for a moment, then began to type, fingers flying over the screen as she stuck out her tongue in concentration. “Honestly, for how flirting you do I think you’d know how to talk to a woman.”

“Most women aren’t Blake,” Yang said without looking up, “Blake’s special. She’s just-she’s-I love her, okay?”

The room fell quiet, outside of the sound of Yang’s phone sending the text.

“You love her?” Ruby asked slowly and Yang nodded.

“Yeah,” Blake said softly, a small smile on her face as she read the text from Yang that set up their meeting tomorrow, “I really do. She’s just...so wonderful. She’s kind, and caring, and warm, and she supports me in everything. I love spending time with Yang. It’s like personal time, you know? I don’t get worn out around her.”

“Blake’s so thoughtful,” Yang was saying as she leaned against Ruby’s bed, smiling as she thought about Blake, under the watchful eyes of Ruby and Weiss, “She’s so passionate, and loving. She’ll go through hell to keep her friends safe. I love spending time with her, you know? It makes my heart so happy. Blake’s just...amazing.”

“So…” Ilia said slowly, “You are dating, right?”

“I don’t know, maybe?” Blake said with a small, timid smile.

“Oh my gods, I fucking-” Ilia took a long breath and let out a heavy sigh as she saw Blake’s smile turn into a smirk. “Why do I hang out with you?”

“Cause you’re my best friend and you love me?” Blake said innocently and Ilia rolled her eyes. 

“Right. Good point.”

“So you are seeing her tomorrow, right?” Ruby asked, watching with a smile as Yang texted back and forth with Blake.

“Yep! We’re going to see a movie and then she wants to take me to the park,” Yang said happily, hopping upright and heading for the door. “Thanks sis,” she leaned over to give Ruby a one armed hug and shot Weiss a wink, “Thanks Weiss.” With that she headed for her room, gleefully texting back and forth with the woman she loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed reading!  
> Comments always appreciated!


	5. Haircut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a moment of desperation, Yang destroys something near and dear to her heart.

“Why’d you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Cut your hair,” Blake said quietly. She stroked Yang’s head gently as they sat near the fire, Yang’s head in her lap and her arm in a sling. Traveling through Vacuo wasn’t easy, it certainly wasn’t fun, and the two had been through the ringer over the past few days. Still, they were making good progress towards finding the rest of their friends, separated as they were after Salem’s invasion of Atlas. Even now, with their supplies running low and Aura running lower, Yang smiled as she stared up at Blake, reaching up to stroke her cheek. 

“I had to do something,” she said softly, “You were in trouble and I knew I could get to you if I cut my hair.”

“But you love your hair, Yang.”

“I love you more, Blake,” Yang said quietly and Blake’s breath caught in her throat. Yang looked away, past Blake and up to the stars above. “I saw you in danger and there were so many Grimm and I just-I just-that  _ night _ -” her voice cut out with a choked sob and tears started to fall down Yang’s cheeks, landing in the sand below. Blake leaned forwards and planted a small kiss on Yang’s forehead, hugging her tighter as she did so. 

“I know, Yang,” Blake said softly, “I know.” Today had been difficult for both of them. Walking across the desert was a fool’s errand at the best of times, never mind when they were hounded by Grimm and only having a vague destination in mind. The Grimm that day had been particularly nasty, a kind of worm Grimm that Yang had said she’d read about back at Beacon, but Blake was unfamiliar with. That didn’t make them any less dangerous, squirming around on the surface of the sand and grabbing on with their toothless mouths to drag the huntresses below the surface. They held their own for a while, until Blake was jumped by four of the Grimm at once, her sword flying out of her hand. Yang, by comparison, was only fighting one, a terribly big one. 

As Blake had screamed and bellowed in fear and rage as she felt her legs begin to sink beneath the sand, there was a flash of blonde hair and flame and suddenly the Grimm were dust. Blake looked around wildly, grabbing onto Yang’s hand and hauling herself up before running for their lives across the sand as more Grimm started to swarm. It was only now, up on a rock the Grimm couldn’t burrow through, that they had a moment of respite. It was then that Blake had noticed two things about Yang: The first being that her prosthetic arm was hanging limply by her side, sparking and spasming. The second was that Yang’s normally long, luxurious locks were cut short, hacked off in a hurry by Blake’s sword, which Yang handed back mutely as they sat in stunned silence. They had scraped together a fire from scraps of clothing the Grimm had torn and bits of plants that were stubbornly growing in the rock itself. Now, they were sitting together, trying to comfort one another.

“We’re gonna find them again, Yang,” Blake said softly and Yang sniffled in response. “Ruby’s smart, she has Weiss and Qrow and all the rest of them to watch out for her.”

“Not Penny,” Yang mumbled, “or Oscar.” Blake sighed and nodded slowly. Both Penny and Oscar had stayed in Atlas, refusing to leave until Salem was beaten back and the city of Mantle was safe. It had provided cover for the rest of them to run, scurrying away as Penny and Oscar traded blows with Salem, looking like gods and angels dueling in the skies above. It was hardest on Ruby, but Blake knew that everyone was feeling the effects of having their small family torn apart, again. Yang was staring numbly up at the sky, fighting back tears even as they poured down her face. Blake leaned down and nuzzled their foreheads together gently and Yang hummed in response. “What’s up, Blake?”

“We’ve got each other,” she said softly, “We’ll find them. I know we will.”

“I-” Yang started to say, a sliver of doubt worming its way into her voice, but then she stopped. Blake met her eyes and saw Yang’s determination shine through and she smiled through her tears. “Yeah. We’ll find them together.”

“Protecting each other,” Blake whispered, and Yang reached up, stroking her cheek gently.

“Always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is officially titled "Yang 'Must cut my hair to save my cat wife' Xiao Long", but Haircut sounds a bit more professional.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments always appreciated!


	6. The Diner Where We Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sequel to chapter three, featuring everyone's favorite pirates, Captain Catfish and First Mate Goldilocks! Oh, and Blake and Yang are there too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been meaning to do a new chapter for this AU for a while, and finally got around to it.

Six Years Ago 

Yang collapsed into bed and groaned, wanting simulatenously to bury her head into her pillow and also to throw up. Partying with Nora was always a grab bag in terms of how Yang would feel afterward. Sometimes, she felt perfectly fine and was more than sober enough to get a good night’s sleep and face tomorrow firing on all cylinders. Other times, like tonight, she felt like death would be preferable to the hangover she knew she was going to have the next morning. 

It had started so innocently with just a strawberry sunrise, then a beer or two...or three, Yang didn’t really remember, and then Nora had gotten out the whiskey and the rest of the evening was a blur. Yang knew that she’d spent at least an hour staring blankly at the night sky while Nora tried to lasso a toaster, and had made out with Weiss Schnee for a while, herself a sloppy drinker, but other than that the night was probably going to be lost in the darkness of a blackout in a few minutes. 

Her scroll went off and Yang grumlbed to herself, halfheartedly pulling it out and staring at the screen. The words bounced off her alcohol numbed brain for a few minutes until she finally focussed on two things: a text from Weiss Schnee that said something along the lines of ‘Never speak of tonight to anyone something something my reputation’ and a notification that Blake Belladonna had posted a new picture online. Yang stared at the notification from Blake for a moment, too drunk and too proud to care what Weiss thought about her, and gingerly tapped the screen.

A moment later a picture popped up from someone that Yang recognized immediately as Blake Belladonna, her childhood friend who had moved away years ago. It had been over a decade and Yang knew that she would still be able to pick her best friend out of a crowd. They hadn’t spoken much since Blake moved, aside from a few happy birthday messages. By the time their understanding of technology reached the point of being able to keep in contact over such a long distance, too much time had passed. The birthday messages had stopped after five years, though Yang still found herself missing them even today. 

She let out a long, low whistle as she saw Blake’s picture, one of her in a gorgeous purple one piece swimsuit with a large sun hat, a soft smile on her face as she looked up over the top of a book at whoever was taking the picture. Yang considered that maybe it was taken by her partner, until she saw the caption, “Beach day with the family!” There were a few more pictures, most of them just of Blake but a few with another woman, a freckled woman with a long brown ponytail and grey eyes, who had an arm slung around Blake’s shoulders like she might never let go. 

Thoughts of their relationship drifted past Yang’s mind unnoticed as the only coherent thought she had was the same one she mumbled into her pillow as she stared at the pictures. “Fuck...she grew up hot…” She tried to focus on the pictures, desperately trying to come up with a comment to plant on them but none were forthcoming and the mental tax was giving her a headache. With another grumble, Yang’s eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed into a drunken slumber.

True to form, she woke up with a pounding headache from her hangover and a parched throat from not drinking enough the night before. Yang groaned and rolled out of bed, literally, slamming onto the floor and stubbing her toe as she did so. She groaned again, louder this time, and heard the sound of shuffling feet from the room down the hall. A moment later her door opened and she squinted at the concerned face of her roommate, who was equally hungover.

“Y’okay?” Nora slurred out, rubbing at one eye and leaning a bit too heavily on the door handle. 

“M’okay,” Yang replied, shoving herself upright and tucking her knee to her chest, double checking that her toe wasn’t broken. Satisfied that it was just a stub, she buried her head against her knee and pouted, wishing that her headache would subside at least a bit so she could think clearly. Nora was certainly doing better than she was in this department, or perhaps she was just more used to it, as she said,

“Ren’s going to get me some food. Ya want somethin’?”

Yang nodded slowly, as much as she dared without worsening her headache. “Something with a lotta meat and drowning in grease. I’ll pay him back when I get my paycheck.”

“Don’t worry about it!” Yang heard Ren yell, his voice level and calm despite the fact that his girlfriend and girlfriend’s roommate were barely functioning that morning. She considered yell that she  _ would _ worry about it, thank you very much, but knew that it was pointless. She hadn’t owed Ren money in years, no matter how much food he went out to buy. Yang fancied that he might pay to put her and Nora through school if he had the money for it. The door slammed as Ren left to get their food and Yang sighed, hugging her knees to her chest.

“Where does he get all this money? Like...I feel bad not paying him back.”

Nora shrugged, nearly losing her grip on the door and collapsing as she did so. “He works, like, three jobs most of the year. He’s crazy, and I love him.” Nora broke into a dreamy smile and murmured, “I love him so fucking much.” Yang rolled her eyes with a small smile at the sight. She knew from experience that Nora would gladly go on about how much she loved Ren for hours, days in fact, and was just a few degrees below being able to tolerate it that morning.

“Imma get some sleep till Ren gets back,” Yang said and Nora nodded again, slipping back outside and closing the door. A few stumbling steps later, she closed the door to her own room and Yang sighed. Sleep was a good idea, it would certainly help with the hangover, but she wasn’t tired anymore. Slamming your foot into the ground has a habit of waking one up and Yang knew that trying to sleep now would just end up with her laying in bed staring at the ceiling. So instead she stayed on the ground and checked her scroll, trying to be at least a bit productive.

She opened her scroll and gasped. The pictures of Blake were still up, right where they were when she passed out the night before. The comment that Yang had been trying to type was not an articulate, “Youi look sdo goooasdfljadnvcx”. This was what Ruby might have described as ‘gay key mashing’ and was apparently a compliment. But as it was a mistake, indicated by a few dried strands of drool from where Yang had pressed her face against the scree the night before, Yang deleted the comment entirely. She raised her thumb to close out the tab of pictures, only to pause.

Don’t look. Don’t check. Yang knew it was a bad idea. It wouldn’t be the first time that she’d gone through Blake’s pictures and every time she just wound up crying and curled up in a ball. She didn’t know why, she barely  _ knew _ Blake anymore, only through the camera lens. But...it still felt like she had lost something, like there was something that Yang had missed out on due to Blake being so far away. Before she knew it, she was scrolling back through Blake’s pictures. There was her graduation from Menagerie University, her first novel being published, her shy first dinners with her family after that curious year long gap in her photos. Yang had always wondered about that, but at least after the year long gap that red haired dude was nowhere to be seen in her pictures any more. That was good, Yang decided, she had a bad feeling about that guy anyway. 

As she sniffled and felt the first tears beginning to form, Yang all but threw her scroll aside. There wasn’t room in her life to be sad about Blake. It had been years ago, they’d been kids, but that didn’t seem to make it hurt any less. Gods, Yang wondered to herself as she splayed out on the floor, what she would give to see Blake just one more time. 

  
  
  


Present Day 

“So,” Blake said slowly as she watched Yang return with their drinks, sliding into the small diner booth they’d been seated at, “What happened to your arm?”

Yang glanced at her right arm and shrugged, sliding Blake’s tea across the table to her. “It was a while ago. I just got my bike and I was excited and...well…” She tried to smile, the effort coming off as forced, “Wouldya believe that motorcycles and oncoming traffic don’t mix?”

“Fuck, Yang,” Blake gasped, her grip on her tea jostling and a small trickle of boiling water spilling onto her fingers. She hissed and drew her hand back, sucking on the fingers for a moment until they stopped hurting before meeting Yang’s eyes. She was grabbing napkins, her coffee forgotten, and gently offered them to Blake as she turned back to her. Blake took them and placed them underneath her mug of tea with a small smile and a muttered, “Thanks.” Yang smiled softly at her and continued,

“I got launched across the road and…I don’t wanna say if you’re uncomfortable with that kinda thing.”

Blake shrugged, remembering how much research into ‘that kinda thing’ she’d done for her novels. “I don’t mind. What happened?”

“I got flung and my right arm slammed into a truck. Got caught in something, never found out what, and my entire forearm,” Yang indicated the area with her left hand as she spoke, “got pretty ruined. They had to amputate.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. Dad was pissed. He tried to sue the shit outta the driver who hit me but that didn’t really go anywhere,” Yang said with a shrug, “But anyway, what about you? Why are you back in Vale?”

Now it was Blake’s turn to shrug and she took a long sip of her tea before speaking. It was a bit bland, and nowhere near as good as the kind of tea you could get in Menagerie, but it would have to do. Besides, the fact that she got to see her best friend again was sweeter than any tea. “I’m working on a new novel. It’s all nautical themed with pirates and naval terms so I decided to move out here to work on it. Vale’s the City of Ships, after all.” Yang nodded knowingly, well aware of Vale’s nautical history. It would be a perfect place to study the real history of sea travel and to do research on how to most accurately portray the lives of the sailors in her book. At least, that was what Blake had told her agent when she’d decided to move. A part of her, a larger part than she wanted to admit, had hoped that she’d run into Yang if she moved back. The fact that it had happened only a week after moving was incredible. 

“Does it have anything to do with Catfish and Goldilocks?” Yang teased lightly in between sips of coffee and Blake grinned, leaning on her elbow and twirling her hair with one finger.

“That’s  _ Captain  _ Catfish to you, Goldilocks.” Yang snorted with laughter into her coffee and Blake’s grin widened. “They’re the main characters, I think. It’s good that I ran into you actually, cause I didn’t feel right using Goldilocks without your permission.”

Yang rolled her eyes playfully and said, “We were kids, Blake, I don’t mind.”

“Still, I insist,” Blake said and Yang smiled softly at her in such a way that it made Blake’s heart leap with joy.

“Okay,” Yang whispered after a moment, a small blush forming on her face, “You have my permission.” Blake nodded happily and the two drank their drinks for a while in silence. Yang furrowed her brow in thought for a moment, then asked, “What kind of relationship do they have? Captain Catfish and First Mate Goldilocks?”

“Oh, uh, they’re-” Blake tried not to think about the very...steamy scene she had envisioned for the two of them about three quarters of the way through the book. “They’re close.”

“Well yeah, they’re best friends,” Yang said and Blake shook her head slowly.

“No, like, they’re  _ close _ .” Yang stared at her blankly for a moment, then gasped as her face flushed red and she let out a stuttered,

“O-oh!” 

Blake hid her own blush behind her tea and looked out the window while Yang tried to do the same by studying the floor. “Do you and girlfriend want anything to eat?” someone asked, and Blake turned to see a waitress at their table, talking to an incredibly flustered Yang. 

“N-no we’re not- I mean-she’s not my-”

“I’ll take a menu, please,” Blake said politely, then a devious thought crossed her mind and she added, “and one for my girlfriend too.” The waitress nodded with a small smile and Blake turned to see Yang red as a beet. If she were any redder, steam might’ve started coming out of her ears. Blake smiled sheepishly, her devious moment gone, and murmured, “Sorry. That was mean.”

“It’s fine,” Yang managed to say after a few sips of coffee, “Just wasn’t expecting it.”

“Oh, so now you’re expecting me to call you my girlfriend?” Blake teased and Yang’s eyes went wide.

“No, no! That’s not what I meant at all!” she started to protest but Blake laughed softly and Yang’s smile returned, that wonderful lopsided smile she had back when they were children and carried into her adult life. It was beautiful, and Blake found herself wanting to see it as much as she could. “But,” Yang said with a wink and Blake felt her heart leap again, “If you want to, feel free.”

Oh, two could play at that game. Blake batted her eyelashes at Yang and was gratified to see her flush again, then said, “Really? And what does my  _ girlfriend _ want to do with the rest of her day?”

“I’d like to spend it with you,” Yang said, a serious note in her voice and Blake felt her mischievous grin slip into softness for a moment, “It’s...it’s been a long time, Blake.” 

“Yeah,” Blake said softly, instinctually reaching across the table to entine her fingers with Yang’s and was happily surprised when Yang did the same. “It has been. We need to spend today catching up. More than just today.”

“So that’s what I’d like to do,” Yang said, “I wanna spend today with you, catching up, and however many other days you like. At least, as long as my  _ girlfriend _ wants to.” She capped off her statement with another wink and Blake rolled her eyes.

“Oh trust me, your girlfriend would love to.” The waitress returned, a pair of menus tucked under her arm as she carried a serving tray laden with drinks. “Oh!” Blake exclaimed, reaching out and gently grabbing the menus from her with a small, “Thank you!” The waitress nodded and left and Blake turned back to Yang, sliding one of the menus to her.

“I’d’ve given you a hand with that but...I mean…” Yang said with a grin, nodding at her right arm. Blake felt her blush evaporate and she glared in faux disgust at Yang, who laughed at her own joke.

“You make puns now?”

“I love puns,” Yang said proudly and Blake huffed in mock offense.

“I don’t think we can be girlfriends anymore.”

“But-babe!” Yang said, her hand flying out of Blake’s and pressing against her chest as though to clutch her pearls, a look of outrageous shock and horror on her face that was so exaggerated Blake started to laugh. “I thought you  _ loved _ me!”

I do, Blake found herself thinking, thankful that she was laughing or she might have said it aloud. Instead she calmed herself down and played along with Yang’s overblown theatrics, letting out a steely sigh and saying, “Oh fine, darling, we can still be girlfriends.” Yang let her hand fall back to the table with a laugh and picked up her menu. Blake stared at her for a moment, too lost in adoration to really study the menu at all, or even realize that she was holding it. Yang looked up over the top of her menu and smiled softly and Blake returned it in kind.

Gods, Blake wondered as she finally turned to her menu, what she would give for the chance to spend every day like this with Yang. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No idea where this AU is gonna go from here, but it's probably lots of soft bees.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	7. Snoring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang gets upset when Weiss tells her that she snores

“And then Weiss was all, ‘Stop snoring! You sound like a chainsaw!’. Unbelievable!” Yang exclaimed, collapsing into a chair in the library. Blake snickered, still hidden behind her book but the angle of her ears let Yang know that she was listening intently. “I know that I snore, but I’m not that bad. Right, Blake?” Yang asked, a sliver of uncertainty entering her voice. Maybe the fact that Ruby had soundproofed her room during Yang’s first long time away from home should’ve been an indication, but that didn’t prove anything. 

“I mean,” Blake twitched her ears, drawing Yang’s eye, “I wouldn’t say it’s like a chainsaw. More like an avalanche.”

“Blake!” Yang whined and slumped forwards onto the table, her head in her hands, making Blake laugh. She flicked a page in her book and slid a bookmark into before putting it down. “I’ll get some nose strips or something. Those work, right?”

She felt Blake put a hand on her shoulder and glanced over at her out of the corner of her eye. “Does this really bother you?” she asked softly and Yang shrugged with a sigh.

“Not really. I don’t really think about it much, but if I’m bothering you then I’ll figure something out,” Yang said and Blake gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

“It’s not a big deal, Yang,” she said, “I mean that.”

“Really?” Yang asked, sitting up and leaning her head onto her hand to look at Blake, “Because apparently I sound like an avalanche.”

Blake laughed softly and shook her head. “I don’t mind the snoring, really”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.” Blake was quiet for a moment, drumming her fingers on her book in thought. “You remember when you and Ruby went back to Patch for a week?”

“A few months ago?” Yang asked, furrowing her brow, “Yeah, of course. Why?” She and Ruby had gone back to Patch during the week that surrounded the anniversary of Summer’s death. It was easier for all of them in the Xiao Long-Rose family to be together during that time, especially for Ruby. Yang hadn’t thought much about what was going on at Beacon during that week, she’d been too busy consoling her family. 

Blake sighed and blushed softly, making Yang’s breath catch in her throat. She didn’t know how someone could make being flustered look so cute, but Blake managed it with flying colors. “I couldn’t sleep that week. Not very well, anyway.”

“Torchwick?” Yang asked and Blake shook her head.

“No, I’ve gotten over that, thanks to you.” She flashed a smile at Yang, making Yang’s heart sing, “It was more...the snoring.”

“But I wasn’t there,” Yang asked, then gasped in realization, “Does Weiss snore too? Then what the fuck is she coming after me for if she’s gonna keep you up all night with-” she stopped as Blake put a hand onto Yang’s own. 

“Weiss doesn’t snore, Yang. You do. That was the problem.” Yang furrowed her brow again in confusion and Blake sighed. “I...I missed it.”

“You missed it?”

Blake nodded slowly and murmured, “I couldn’t sleep without it, Yang. It comforts me, it’s like Nora’s white noise machine.”

Yang felt the warmth of love she had for Blake grow as she heard that, as she saw Blake blush again, and she smiled, feeling welling tears in her eyes. “You mean that?”

“Yeah,” Blake said, reaching up and wiping a tear from Yang’s cheek. “I mean it.”

“So no nose strips?” Yang asked and Blake laughed with a shake of her head.

“You better not. We have midterms coming up, I need my sleep.” Yang leaned into Blake’s touch as she stroked her cheek with her thumb, nuzzling against Blake’s hand. 

“Of course. Any way I can help,” Yang said softly and Blake smiled, stroking her cheek one more time before murmuring,

“How about we go back to the dorm for a nap?” Yang nodded with a gentle smile and they stood, Blake tucking her book under her arm. Yang smiled as she walked back to the dorm with Blake, the two gently brushing against one another as they walked. So maybe snoring wasn’t all bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As someone who snores like a chainsaw, conversations like this would are high romance.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	8. Shroud and Celica

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake chases her cat onto a neighbor's property and winds up scoring a date.

“Shroud, you have to stop doing this,” Blake grumbled as she scooped the tiny black cat up off the sidewalk. The cat whined and pawed at her face lightly, making Blake roll her eyes in exasperation. “Don’t take that tone with me, young lady. You know what you did.” Shroud wriggled and curled in her hands until the cat was splayed out on her back, one paw tucked protectively around Blake’s hand. “No more running away. I already had to buy new ink to print wanted posters because of your dumb ass,” Blake huffed, at which point Shroud began to purr, nuzzling her head against Blake’s hand. “Shut up, I do not love you.” Shroud purred harder and Blake sighed, feeling the same warmth of love she always had for her moron of a cat. Shroud didn’t have two brain cells to rub together, as Ilia said you could watch thoughts vanish in her eyes, but she was cute and Blake loved her regardless.

Now that she had her cat in her arms, firmly making sure Shroud didn’t escape again, Blake took a look around. She sighed and shook her head as she recognized the house they were at, the one that shroud had been trying to sneak into.

“Really? This one again?” she asked and Shroud blinked at her as the words washed over her without any impact. “What do you like about this house? Is it the dog? I thought cats hated dogs.” The house in question, a nice one bedroom affair that Blake had considered when moving to Patch, was home to two things that stood out to Blake: One, the same that Shroud seemed to notice, was the massive golden labrador retriever that lived there and liked to run up to the fence and beg for pets when Blake was on her morning runs. Two was the woman who owned the dog, a bright, vibrant, friendly and, Blake had to admit, incredibly attractive woman who worked at the gym nearby. They had only had a few interactions when Blake needed help with a machine at the gym or somebody to spot her, but the woman was nice enough. “I swear, if you want to go see this dog so much, I’ll just call her owner and we set up a-hey!” Blake exclaimed as Shroud wriggled around and leapt out of her arms, bolting for the garage of the house. “Get back here!” Blake yelled.

Shroud leapt onto the small hedge garden that ran outside the front of the house and peered through the foliage at something in the garage. Blake groaned and jogged up to her cat, scooping her up again and this time clutching the cat to her chest with a vice like grip. 

“You can’t keep doing this, Shroud, you’re being a bad cat,” Blake grumbled, then her eyes caught what Shroud had seen and she froze in place. Inside the garage, next to the sporty looking yellow motorcycle, was the woman who lived here. She was working out in her garage, as the gym was closed on mondays, and was currently doing pullups, sweat glistening on her skin and muscles pumping hard as she did so. 

Blake had never really considered that muscular women were her ‘type’, so to speak. She much preferred the actions of someone, their personality, to any physical kind of attraction. That was what really mattered, after all, and what Blake judged people on most. It took a lot to make Blake blush without a sappy poem and a few roses, but right now she was blushing so brightly she might’ve been confused for a stop light. 

The woman who lived here wasn’t just attractive, she was a damn  _ supermodel _ .

She let herself down on the ground with a soft grunt and smiled to herself as she bent down to pick up her water. Blake let out a soft squeak at the sight of the woman’s workout clothes constricting in just the right way and the woman paused, looking over her shoulder at the hedges. 

Their eyes met and Blake felt frozen. Or maybe she was melting. Either way, she couldn’t form a sentence. The woman stood and scratched the back of her neck awkwardly, smiling in a lopsided grin that made Blake’s heart do acrobatics. “Uh...hi?” the woman said. Blake struggled to form a sentence, mouth flapping like a screen door in a strong breeze. “Can I help you with something?” Blake was too busy fantasizing about this woman taking her in her big, strong arms, and holding her tight, snuggling up to that strong chest, lifting her chin up and just kissing this beautiful woman….but she knew that she had been quiet too long to be polite and had to say something.

“Uh-uh yes! I mean, no-I-I mean,” Blake stammered, then thrust Shroud out in front of her. “I was chasing my cat.”

The woman’s eyes lit up, the lilac sparkling in the early morning sun. “Wadow!” she cried out and took a step forward with a smile, tucking her water bottle under her arm as she did so. 

“Wh-what?” Blake managed, stepping out around the hedges and watching as Shroud gleefully craned her neck out to receive some scritches from the woman, who was gazing down at her fondly.

“Wadow. Shadow wadow,” the woman said with a shrug, “She comes and hangs out with Celica a few times a week.” She looked up and met Blake’s eye, her head cocking to the side curiously. “She’s yours?”

“Yeah, this dumbass is mine,” Blake said, glaring in betrayal at her cat who was currently assuming a consistency similar to jelly in her and the woman’s hands. “She’s been sneaking out of the house for weeks now.” The woman nodded slowly in acknowledgement and Blake sighed, “Her name’s Shroud, by the way.”

“Shroud,” the woman echoed softly, “That’s a good name.” 

“Sorry she’s been sneaking into your house so much,” Blake said and the woman shrugged again.

“It’s no problem. Celica needs somebody to calm her down anyway, she’s got anxiety, the poor baby.” The woman laughed and shook her head ruefully, “Makes two of us. Shado-Shroud,” she corrected herself, “She comes in and just lays on top of Celica. That dog sleeps like a rock when Shroud comes over. Once Celica’s asleep, she plops down in my lap and curls up.” The woman scratched Shroud under her chin and Shroud twisted onto her back, basking in the attention of two people at once. Blake had a quick flash of an image of curling up in the woman’s lap herself and banished it just as quickly to the back of her mind in time to hear the woman say, “I’m Yang. You?”

“Blake. We’ve met at the gym a few times,” Blake said, impressed with her own ability to recover her composure so quickly. 

Yang furrowed her brow for a moment in thought, then smiled broadly and said, “Oh! Right, yeah, now I remember! I’ve spotted you a couple times.” She opened her mouth to say more, only for the golden retriever to bound around the corner of the garage and race up to the two of them. Shroud twisted and flopped out of the women’s hands, running up to the dog and bonking her forehead against their chest. Yang turned to watch them with a smile and Blake couldn't help but feel a fond grin spread across her face as she watched it. “That’s Celica,” Yang explained, gesturing at the dog, who had flopped onto their side and was pawing gently at Shroud. Yang’s grin grew goofy as she watched them lay together, Shroud arching her back and curling up against Celica while the dog grabbed her gently and tucked her against her chest. “Aaw she got her in a hug, don’t you baby?”

“I have no sympathy for this prisoner,” Blake said flatly, glaring as her cat snuggled up against Celica and fell asleep. “Asshole.” Yang smirked and rolled her shoulders before taking a long sip of her water. Blake had to force herself to study their pets to avoid staring at Yang as she leaned back, abs glistening in the sun. 

As Yang finished drinking she let out a satisfied sigh and said, “They’re gonna be like that for a while.”

“They do that a lot?”

“Every time Shroud comes over.”

Blake sighed and ran a hand through her hair, then a thought crossed her mind. “Well, then we need to find some way to spend the time. You wanna go out for coffee?”

Yang snapped over to look at her, lilac eyes going wide in surprise. “Coffee? Like out to a diner or something?”

“Sure,” Blake said with a shrug, feeling none of the confidence her motions would seem to show, “It’s the least I can do to make up for this bastard sneaking into your house all the time.”

“Uh-I-I really-uh, sure!” Yang stammered out and Blake felt a triumphant song echo in her heart at the thought that she could fluster someone like Yang. “I need to shower first though, and get Celica inside. I’ll, uh, meet you there?” 

“Okay,” Blake said with a shrug, “Meet up at Jaune’s Place?” 

“Yeah,” Yang said softly, with that same lopsided grin, “Yeah, Jaune’s Place.” 

“I’ll see you there,” Blake said and crouched down, reaching out to scratch Shroud behind the ears. “I’ll see you later Shroud. Mommy’s got plans,” her tone turned flat and she scowled at her cat again, “You better be here when we get back.” Yang laughed and began to head back towards the garage as Blake stood back up. Celica leapt to her feet and Shroud followed, trotting towards the garage. The cat glanced over her shoulder and meowed in an ‘You should listen to me more often’ kind of way, which made Blake roll her eyes. She waved at Yang who waved back before heading inside and Blake let out a long sigh, unable to keep the smile off her face. “You’re still an asshole, Shroud,” she muttered, then turned to walk back home. Maybe her cat was a dumbass, but she’d helped Blake meet a beautiful woman and gotten her a coffee date in the same move. 

Blake couldn’t be that mad. If anything, she was ecstatic. Extra tuna for Shroud tonight, Blake decided. That sounded like a plan. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shroud is based directly on my dumbass of a cat. That cat couldn't find his way out of an empty room.   
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	9. Shroud and Celica Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three years after meeting by chance due to their pets, Blake and Shroud battle for custody of Yang's lap.  
> An immediate followup to Chapter Eight, inspired by Matchappreciated's comment. My hands are tied, it was too cute not to write immediately.

Three years after Shroud had led Blake to Yang’s house and accidentally introduced the two-Blake refused to admit that Shroud had a plan-the two were living together in Yang’s house. Now it looked much more like Blake’s place as well, the shelves covered in knicknacks and a large cat tree in the corner of the living room, which Shroud never used but Yang had thought was too cute not to get. Blake had tried to talk her out of it, but the blonde was stubborn when it came to their pets. Sometimes, Blake thought ruefully, it seemed like Yang spent more time with their pets than with her, but she knew that wasn’t true. The four of them were basically inseparable anyway, no matter where Yang and Blake were at least one of their pets was nearby.

Tonight was no exception. The whole family was in the living room, quietly doing their own things. Blake was reading a new novel, casually enjoying one of her favorite authors, while Yang was playing a game on her scroll, apparently trying to beat a new high score set by her sister. Shroud and Celica were both asleep, Celica at their feet, trapping their legs against the couch, and Shroud perched on the armrest. 

As Blake turned the page, the sound woke Shroud up and the cat stood, looking around with that vacant stare that Blake loved. Yang glanced over at her as her scroll let out a small, tinny, ‘You win!’, and cooed, “Hi baby. You have a good nap?” 

Shroud let out a tiny “Aahk!” in response and climbed off the amrest. She gently rested her paws on Yang’s thigh before beginning to knead her gently and Blake heard Yang’s sharp intake of breath.

“Blake look, she’s making bread,” Yang said softly and Blake looked over to see Shroud kneading Yang’s leg and smiled at the sight. Shroud, apparently happy with the consistency of Yang’s thighs, hopped up and curled into a ball in her lap, purring contentedly. Yang squealed softly and scratched Shroud behind the ears, making Blake roll her eyes fondly. “She’s so cute.”

“She is,” Blake said softly, then smirked and murmured, “But she’s taking my spot.”

“My lap is your spot now?” Yang asked and Blake nodded solemnly. “How’d you figure that one out? Is it like dogs, cause with Celica everything she licks is hers.”

Blake laughed at that, remembering the dozens of things that Celica had licked and then proudly brought into the house, including a frisbee, a stick that was too big for the door, and a smaller dog. “If that’s the case, then your lap is  _ definitely _ my spot.” She laughed harder, almost a cackle as Yang flushed a bright red and began to play her game with a new intensity. Blake leaned down and glared at Shroud, who blinked back without a thought in her head. “But I guess I can let this traitor sit there for tonight.”

“She’s a baby,” Yang cooed softly and Shroud purred harder in acknowledgement.

“A thief,” Blake muttered and Yang huffed, giving her a look of mock offense.

“An adorable angel.”

“A gremlin.”

“A perfect kitty.”

“A bastard,” Blake said flatly and Yang gasped, wrapping Shroud up in light hug and covering the cats ears with her hand.

“Blake! This is our baby you’re talking about!” Yang exclaimed and Blake snickered, seeing a flash of a smile on Yang’s face as she held Shroud against her chest. “I’m gonna snuggle her tonight instead of you.”

“Fine,” Blake said, slipping off the couch and running a hand through Celica’s fur. The dog let her tongue flop out and her tail thumped against the floor, but other than that she didn’t react. “Then I’ll sleep here with Celica.”

“Fine,” Yang said, nuzzling against Shroud and Blake wrapped her arms around Celica in response. After a long and halfhearted staredown, wherein both women kept breaking into smiles and barely contained giggles, Yang sighed and let Shroud slip back onto her lap. “I can’t do that, Shroud’s not the same as you when we snuggle.” No matter which kind of ‘snuggling’ Yang was talking about, Blake knew that Shroud would much rather sleep on your face. She’d nearly suffocated underneath that cat more than once. 

“Yeah,” Blake admitted, giving Celica another squeeze before climbing back onto the couch, “and good morning kisses from a dog aren’t the same as with you, babe.” Yang smiled gently and leaned over to nuzzle against Blake and Blake returned it in kind. 

“I love you, Blake,” Yang said softly and Blake smiled, turning her head to plant a soft kiss on Yang’s lips.

“I love you too, Yang,” she whispered and kissed Yang again, feeling her partner smile into the kiss. They kissed a third time, then Yang leaned back and Blake picked up her book. 

“But Shroud’s got my lap tonight,” Yang said with a sheepish smile and Blake rolled her eyes, “Sorry.”

“Fine. But I get your lap all weekend,” Blake said and Yang agreed with a small smile. Blake had never thought that she’d have to work out a custody deal for her girlfriend’s lap with her dumbass of a cat, but here she was. Life sure had taken some strange turns after meeting Yang, but Blake wouldn’t change it for the world. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This became much softer than I had anticipated, but Blake is still just as much a gremlin as her cat.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	10. I Thought You Were From Vale?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you forget how to write well and just write based on memes instead. Enjoy a drunk Blake being taken care of by Yang.

Blake slumped over the desk, staring numbly as Yang and Nora played darts. They had taken a small break from the running and fighting to relax for the evening, and Nora had found a few cases of beer somewhere in her travels. Now they only had one case of beer left and everyone was a bit tipsy. Blake was beyond tipsy, due in no small part to getting into drinking competitions with both Yang and Nora and winning both of them, the other women backing off for water and coffee. 

Now she was beginning to regret her claims that she could drink anyone under the table. Life in the White Fang had been fast and rough, everyone drank, and Blake was no exception. At least here, with Yang and Nora, she knew she was safe, but that didn't mean she wanted to get too wasted. Instead, she left it here, where her thoughts were muddled, her movements sluggish, and her ears picking up everything her companions said, even if she only understood some of it. 

Yang threw another dart into the bullseye with her left hand and Nora huffed. At this point, Yang was just showing off. She’d beaten Nora at darts twice now and Nora was trying her best to be a good sport about it.

“I mean, at least just stick to one hand,” Nora grumbled, halfheartedly throwing a dart and nailing the corkboard behind the dartboard itself. She sighed and leaned onto her hand, watching as Yang tossed a dart around her back and threw it into the bullseye again. 

“I could, but where’s the fun in that?” Yang asked with a cocky grin and Blake felt her heart flutter at the sight. Gods, the alcohol made it so much easier to admit that Yang was just...so fucking hot. Blake wanted to tell her how she felt, wanted to tell her that she loved her, but every time she worked up the nerve something came up, be it Grimm or Atlas, or some combination of the two. It had been weeks now, and the longer it went on the worse Blake’s anxiety got.

What if Yang didn’t like her that way? What if she had fallen for somebody else? Gods, what if she was  _ straight _ ? Her mind snapped back to the moment when Yang said,

“I mean, I am ambidextrous. Why not show off a little, right?”

Oh. Blake’s mind grappled with the word. She knew it, she knew the definition, but the alcohol was making it hard to pick it out from the muddle of thoughts that was her brain right now. So instead she went with the first definition she could think of and mumbled, “S’okay, Yang. You love who you love.”

She collapsed onto the desk, her eyes poking up over the top of her folded arms, as Yang and Nora turned to stare at her in confusion. “What?” Nora asked, cocking her head to the side and Yang laughed as she realized what Blake had said, 

“Blake, no,” she said softly, absentmindedly throwing another dart and getting a third bullseye, which made Nora groan in exasperation, “That’s not-I’m-I can write with both hands, that’s what I’m talking about.”

Blake furrowed her brow, knowing that if she was in a better state of mind she would be horrified by what she said next. “But you only have one right hand.” Nora collapsed into a chair, cackling at Blake and Blake pinned her ears back against her head in embarrassment.

“C’mon you,” Yang said softly, smiling down at Blake and offering her a hand, “You need to sleep. Too much to drink, now it’s bedtime.”

“No,” Blake whined, burying her head in her arms and Yang laughed again, “I’m m’okay.” Or rather, she would have said that if she hadn’t yawned so heavily it could be heard the next room over. Blake groaned and nodded, then stood. Her legs gave out, unused to walking while drunk after so long of not drinking, and she collapsed with a squeak. Yang leapt forwards, snatching her up in her arms with a shout of,

“Gotcha!” She cradled Blake gently in her arms and smiled triumphantly, then a blush spread across her face as she realized what had happened. Blake blushed just as much, a warmth that had nothing to do with the alcohol spawning in her chest. “I-I should put you down,” Yang stammered and Blake responded by nuzzling against her chest. Yang let out a soft laugh and murmured, “Okay then. Bedtime for Blakey.” Blake hummed happily and closed her eyes, drifting off as Yang carried her to bed.

As she lay in bed, allowing Yang to tuck her in, she asked, “So...ambidextrous isn’t an orientation, I know that.”

“Mmhmm,” Yang grunted as she tucked Blake’s legs into bed, gently resting a thick blanket on her. 

“So who do you love, Yang?” Blake asked softly, the first question that night that wasn’t swarming with alcohol induced mumbles and a half thought out series of consequences. She needed to know, so that she could set her heart in the right place, not just for herself, but for Yang’s sake.

“I dunno,” Yang said with a shrug, searching around the room. She let out a small “Ah!” of gratitude as she found Blake’s water bottle, placing it on the nightstand next to her. “Drink plenty of water, okay?”

“Okay,” Blake said with a roll of her eyes, already feeling herself begin to drift off. Yang smirked and walked for the door, then paused in the doorframe.

“I think I’m a lesbian? Maybe pansexual…” Yang mused as she stood there, hand hovering over the light switch. “I dunno. Either way, I like women.” She turned back with a beaming smile and Blake smiled right back. “Night Blake!”  
“Night Yang,” Blake said softly and Yang ducked out the door, flicking the light off on her way out. Blake sighed and curled up in her bed, her mind racing a mile a minute even as she began to fall asleep. 

Yang liked women. That was a good start. With that, Blake smiled softly and the memory of being carried by Yang helped her drift off to sleep. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't even know with this one. There's more of these floating around too. Thanks 3 AM writing sessions.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	11. Fate and Football

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone in Remnant is born with a single sentence on their arm, the first words their soulmate will speak to them. The words for Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna are...different than most.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of strong language, so be warned.

Since time immemorial, everyone on Remnant has been born with a phrase on their arm. For a long time, the phrases went unheeded until someone had the bright idea to invent language by which to  _ read _ these phrases. This is generally seen as a good move. As time went on it was discovered that said phrases were not just random, hardly so in fact. They were, as millenia proved time and time again, connections between souls, the first indication of soulmates. The phrase one had printed upon their arm at birth by fate was the first sentence they were going to hear from their soulmate.

Most soulmates were lovers, of course, it was a common extension of being connected by fate from before you were born. Some people just became the best of friends, sharing everything with one another and becoming as close as they could. It was up to the people who had met their soulmate, an event that was always regarded as a great thing to be celebrated. What was also celebrated was when the words were first read aloud, by a doctor in modern times and always by a doctor who had found their soulmate. 

Such was the case in a small country hospital on Patch where Raven Branwen was barely keeping her eyes open as she held her tiny baby in her arms. Her partner, Taiyang Xiao Long, was staring down at the two of them lovingly, at his soulmate and his first child. A small wisp of blonde hair was drifting as the baby snuggled up to her mother, exposgin the tiny text on her arm.

“What’s it say, Raven?” Tai asked softly, “What are Yang’s words?”

“Oh sure, ask the woman who just gave birth to read a fucking fortune,” Raven grumbled, making Tai laugh. Still, Raven lifted Yang up as best she could and squinted, then leaned back with a laugh. “Oh gods, that’s amazing.”

“What is it?” Tai asked, “What does it say?”

“You’re not going to believe this.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Raven said firmly, tucking Yang to her chest again, “The first words our little dragon is going to hear her soulmate say are ‘Watch where you’re going, you blonde ass bitch’.”

Tai’s face went pale and he slumped into a seat nearby. “Gods, really?” Raven laughed softly, hugging Yang to her as she began to drift off. Tai let out a soft sigh as he saw the two fall asleep together, happy and safe. Even with the strangeness of his daughter’s words, he still felt happier than he could ever remember being before. “Well, Yang, at least you have the strangest words on Remnant.”

“What are her words, doctor?” Kali asked, staring attentively up at the doctor, her fingers entwined with Ghira’s. The doctor held little Blake up to himself gently, narrowing his eyes to better see the words on her arm. He frowned, squinted, and read them again.

“Oh dear,” her murmured, “Mrs. Belladonna, perhaps it’d be better if I took your husband outside to-”

“If you think I’m incapable of slugging you across the face because I just gave birth, think again,” Kali said flatly, glaring at the doctor. The doctor looked to Ghira, who nodded solemnly in agreement with his wife. “Now, doctor,” Kali said, her voice much sweeter, “What are our little panther cub’s words?”

The doctor sighed and shook his head in disbelief, then cleared his throat. “Her words are, and I quote, ‘What the fuck did you just say to me, you swarmy cunt?’”

The room was deadly quiet for a moment until Ghira started roaring with laughter. Kali tried to bat at him to get him to stop but he laughed anyway, playfully keeping his wife’s hands at bay. “Oh, her soulmate’s going to have some fire!” he said, tears forming in his eyes, “I can’t wait to meet them!”

  
  


Yang had twenty five birthdays since her words were first recorded and it was starting to get a little bit silly. For all the reckless driving, sprinting around, and generally being as in the way as possible, no one, not one person, had ever called her a ‘blonde ass bitch’. One particularly annoying woman had called her a ‘top heavy bimbo’, but that wasn’t quite the same thing. Twenty five years, and still no soulmate.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if everyone around her hadn’t found their soulmates left and right. Nora had found Ren at six years old, Pyrrha and Jaune had quite literally stumbled into one another and apologized profusely, only realizing later that their words were matching. Hell, Yang thought glumly as she shoved her hands in her pockets, even her sister had found her soulmate, a lovely girl from Atlas who Yang had taken a liking to immediately. 

Still, there were things to get her mind off it. In this case it was football, the final match of that season between the Vale Veterans and the Menagerie Manticores, a home game for the Manticores. Yang had been saving up for five years to get these tickets and it was her and Nora’s post college graduation world tour that was only three years late. She’d even bought a green checkered Vale Veteran’s jersey.

“What seats did we get?” Yang mumbled to herself as she pulled out her tickets. She’d made sure to get good seats, of course, but the stadium was huge. If she was in section JJ and needed to be in section A, it would be a half mile sprint to get back around the stadium in either direction. She was so intently looking at her tickets that she didn’t look where she was going and her shoulder slammed into a woman walking the other way. Yang turned to apologize, only to be face to face with a furious amber eyed cat Faunus who was now wearing their soda.

“Watch where you’re going, you blonde ass bitch!” the woman snapped and Yang reacted before she even registered the words.

“What the fuck did you just say to me, you swarmy cunt?” The two glared at one another for a moment, lilac eyes seething into unrelenting amber, until Yang saw the words etched on the woman’s arm. She read them on instinct, it was just something people did, and suddenly her anger broke. “No,” she said firmly, “no fucking way.”

“What?” the woman taunted, “You getting scared of…” her voice trailed off as she saw Yang’s words and her hand twisted the black and yellow Menagerie Manticores’ jersey she wore into a knot. “This can’t be happening.” Yang opened her mouth to speak when the woman buried her head into her hands and groaned, “I can’t be soulmates with a Vale Veterans’s fan!”

Yang stared blankly at her for a moment, then said, “Are you seriously going to give up on your soulmate because of football? Cause I don’t even really like the team, it’s just my friend loves them and we’ve been saving up for this trip for years.” 

The woman sighed and stood back up, before saying, “No, I’m not that petty. My friend Ilia is, but I’m not.”

“Oh,” Yang said, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly, “Okay.” They stared at one another for a moment in awkward silence until Yang said, “So...uh...what do we do now?”

“Um...we talk?” the woman offered, then extended a hand, “I’m Blake.”

“I’m Yang,” Yang said, then started and reached into her wallet, “Shit, let me pay for another soda, that was so rude of me.”

“Well I shouldn't have sworn at you.”

“But if you hadn’t…”

“Yeah, I know.” Yang passed Blake a ten Lien bill, and Blake said, “Thanks. Where are you sitting?”

Yang checked her ticket again and said, “Section BB. Where is that?” Blake pointed back down the way Yang had come and Yang groaned, “Fuck me, I was just down there.”

“Well, I’m seated near here so we know where to meet up and talk,” Blake said and Yang furrowed her brow in confusion. “Oh, I’m watching the match, soulmate or not. You better hope the Manticores win, or I’m gonna be pissed when we sit down to figure this out.”

Yang smirked at that and Blake smiled. It was a beautiful smile, Yang decided. “So we’ll meet up here after the match?”

“Sure thing. I know a great place to go out to eat near here,” Blake said with a shrug, “Unless you have plans?”

“Even if I did, Nora would force me to go out with you,” Yang said with a roll of her eyes and Blake laughed, making for another beautiful thing about her. “Well, good luck to your team,” Yang said with a wink.

“Thanks, Blake said, stepping up a few stairs until she was eye to eye with Yang, “But we don’t need it. You’re team’s gonna get slaughtered.” Yang laughed again and Blake rolled her eyes playfully before heading off to her seat. Yang turned to watch her go with a fond smile on her face. If that was her soulmate, well, Yang might have fallen in love already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More soulmates! It does my heart good to see the Bees as soulmates.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments always appreciated!


	12. Midnight Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter sets up a meeting with Robyn Hill, with more than just diplomacy in mind.

“I understand the urgency, Special Operative Schnee, but I hardly think that a meeting at midnight is within protocol.” Winter held back a sigh and instead put that spike of emotion into narrowing her eyes at her newest assistant, one Ciel Soleil. She was an excellent assistant, to be fair, and a prime candidate for becoming a special operative herself, after all she had kept up with Penny for months, but it was her strictness of rules and timing that was starting to irk Winter. Of course Winter liked punctuality and order, they were standards in a military, but that didn’t mean she wanted her assistant to question her every move, especially not moves like this. 

“Your concern is noted,” Winter said smoothly and she could see Ciel’s neutral expression flicker into a frown, “and if schedules had allowed, I would have met with Miss Hill at any other time. But between the recent attacks, that unfortunate business with team RWBY, and our increased military lockdown of Atlas, we haven’t had the chance. You of all people would know how busy I’ve been.” Ciel nodded curtly. She had an incredible memory for that kind of thing, it was one her talents that Winter had started to rely on. She had never missed a meeting or a drill before hiring Ciel, but now she was certain that she never would. 

In truth, Ciel Soleil was a perfect choice to assist Winter Schnee. They shared many of the same traits, punctuality, professionalism, deference to authority, and took no guff from anyone. In all things, Ciel was exactly who Winter wanted backing her up and keeping track of her professional matters. All things, that is, except when Robyn Hill was concerned. It had taken concerted effort to get the general to listen and pull troops out of Mantle, allowing Robyn Hill and her rapidly growing militias to guard the city themselves. Aside from Winter and the Ace Ops, no Atlas military personnel were allowed into the city. Winter had worked closely with Robyn to work out the deal and to make sure it was followed through, and Robyn had insisted in the wake of that agreement that Winter be her only direct liaison in Atlas. The general had grudgingly agreed, though Winter’s own disapproval had been a thin mask to hide the glee she would never admit to having. 

“I can handle the meeting on my own, Ciel,” Winter said and Ciel stiffened. “You’re dismissed for the night.”

“Special Operative Schnee, I hardly think tha-”

“You’re dismissed,” Winter said, a bit more firmly this time. Ciel bit her lip lightly, then nodded in a jerky motion and made for the door. It was just in time, it seemed, as when she opened the door a familiar voice called out,

“Hey Stopwatch. She in there?” Winter balled her hand into a fist and held it behind her back to keep from breaking into a smile at the sound of Robyn’s voice. It would have been unprofessional.

“Special Operative Schnee is awaiting you in three minutes and twenty seven seconds,” Ciel said curtly, then added, “and not a moment before.” 

Robyn laughed and Winter was finding it harder and harder to keep from smiling, instead saying, “Send her in Ciel. It wouldn’t do to keep Mantle’s savior waiting.” She heard Ciel sigh and she must have waved Robyn in as the woman walked into Winter’s office, dressed in her usual gear and smiling like she owned the whole world.

As the door closed and Ciel walked away towards her quarters, Robyn scoffed and raised one eyebrow as she watched Winter work. A few moments of typing onto her computer later, Winter had disabled any recording devices in the room, both audio and visual, as per the agreement with Robyn. It was diplomatic, and Winter took excellent notes. The general had complained only until receiving a fifty page dossier on Winter and Robyn’s first meeting, including a psychological analysis and an architectural dissertation on the structural integrity of Mantle’s walls. The notes, he had decided, were fine. 

Once the devices were disabled, Winter rounded her desk so the two were face to face, only a few feet apart. Robyn turned that infuriatingly attractive raised eyebrow to Winter and asked, “Mantle’s savior, huh?”

“Shut up and get over here,” Winter said and the two leapt at each other, lips mashing hungrily and hands searching. Winter undid Robyn’s jacket buttons as Robyn took the pins out of Winter’s bun, letting her white hair cascade down her back. By the time the two separated enough to breathe there were growing hickeys up and down Robyn’s neck and a dozen purple lipstick marks on Winter’s cheeks. “New lipstick?” Winter asked and Robyn grinned.

“You like it?”

“Love it.” With that, the two were back at it. Hours later they were slumped in a pair of chairs that Winter usually used for guests, but which now were being used as a makeshift loveseat. Robyn was sitting upright in just her jacket while Winter rested her head in her lap. “I’ve missed you,” she murmured and Robyn laughed softly, stroking a lock of hair behind Winter’s ear.

“Yeah, you too Princess,” Robyn whispered and Winter rolled her eyes. 

“You know I hate it when you call me that,” Winter grumbled and Robyn laughed again.

“I also know we have great angry sex. I’m picking my battles.” 

“And here I thought we were in love,” Winter said dryly and Robyn leaned over, nuzzling their noses together.

“Aw, you make a joke. I’m rubbing off on you,” she teased and Winter snorted, planting a kiss on Robyn’s lips before muttering,

“You’re a bad influence, the general was right.” 

“Fuck the general,” Roby said, kissing Winter back.

Winter reached, up wrapping her fingers up in Robyn’s hair and dragging her down fully. “I’d rather fuck you.” 

“Think we have time?”

“I’m a special operative. We have as much time as we like.”

Robyn grinned and kissed her again, murmuring, “That’s my girl. Break all the rules.” 

Winter rolled her eyes again and continued kissing Robyn. Maybe tomorrow Mantle would be under attack or Salem would return to finish Atlas for good. Maybe they would be separated for months or never see each other again. Right now it didn’t matter. Right now, as Winter once again allowed herself to collapse fully into loving Robyn, they could just be. They could just be two women in love. 

That was all they needed right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to write more Winter and Robyn, they're so much fun.


	13. What Color are Oranges?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On a lazy Saturday morning, Blake is reminded what a beautiful dumbass Yang is.

Blake rather enjoyed her Saturday mornings. They started off slowly, usually around nine, when she would wake up. Blake would sit up and stretch before leaning over to plant a soft kiss on Yang’s cheek, making the blonde smile in her sleep and mumble Blake’s name before drifting back to sleep. Then it was out for a three mile run, a luxury compared to her usual five mile runs on the weekdays, and then home for a shower. After that was a light breakfast, usually toast and some fruit. By this point, Yang would be up and moving, stumbling into her workout clothes and kissing Blake lightly on the cheek before trying not to tumble down the stairs as she went to their workout room. 

While Yang worked out, Blake would eat her breakfast and read a book, usually a romance or fantasy novel, sometimes fantasy romance if she was feeling particularly adventurous. Weekends were calm, especially Saturdays, and Blake enjoyed that. It was a nice change of pace from the hectic nature of their day to day lives as Huntresses. Barring any emergencies outside the city or something concerning Ruby or Weiss, Blake and Yang got to enjoy a nice day to themselves. 

As Blake sat there reading her book and munching on her grapes, she heard Yang come out of the shower. Blake glanced around until she saw Yang, dressed in a sports bra and leggings with her hair up in a towel as she walked to the kitchen. “Hey babe,” Yang said, stopping by the couch to kiss Blake on the cheek. Blake hummed happily, leaning into the kiss as she did so. 

“Hey,” she said softly, turning to kiss Yang’s jaw, which made Yang smile softly. “Good workout?”

“Great workout,” Yang affirmed, leaning back up and stretching her arms above her head. Blake was glad that they were a couple officially, she didn't have to hide how much she openly stared at Yang these days. She was absolutely beautiful, and Yang knew it. Thanks to how much Blake enjoyed just drinking in Yang’s beauty, she knew it too. “We still have some fruit left over? I’m starving.”

“Sure, plenty. The cutting board’s still in the sink, so just use that again.” Yang nodded and headed to the kitchen and soon Blake heard the sounds of her humming to herself and cutting up fruit. After a few minutes, when Blake was deep in her book once more, Yang called out,

“Hey Blake?” 

“Yeah?” Blake asked, turning to see Yang standing over the kitchen island, lips pursed in thought. Most of the fruit was cut up and now she was on to cutting up oranges for orange slices.

“What color is an orange?” Yang asked, looking up and meeting Blake’s eyes. WEre it not for the pure and utter sincerity in Yang’s gaze. Still, the question caught Blake off guard so much that she asked,

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” Yang said, “Like, a blueberry is blue, and a strawberry is red, and a banana is yellow. What color is an orange?” 

Blake stared at her girlfriend for a while, dumbfounded, then asked, “Yang, you know our pride flag out front?”  
“Which one?” Yang asked as she went back to cutting up the oranges.

“Just pride in general,” Blake said and Yang nodded slowly, not looking up to avoid cutting her fingers. 

“Yeah, I know that one.”

“List off the colors for me.”

“What?” Yang asked in confusion and Blake repeated,

“List the colors on the flag.”

“The rainbow flag?”

“Yeah.”

Yang looked up, her confusion evident in her furrowed brow and slight frown. “Okay, uh, black, brown, red, oran…” she trailed off into silence, then gently put her knife aside and buried her head into her hands, groaning, “Mother fucker!” Blake cackled from the couch as she listened to Yang groan in disappointment, watching as she slumped onto the island, shooting orange slices everywhere. “Fuck me.”

“Give me some of those orange slices and we can talk,” Blake said and Yang groaned again, pushing herself upright and scooping up the oranges slices, depositing them in the bowl. She picked up the bowl of fruit and slumped on the couch next to Blake, who leaned against her. Yang wrapped an arm around Blake instinctively, and Blake nuzzled against her, allowing Yang to pop a strawberry slice into her mouth.

“Don’t tell Ruby about this?” Yang asked and Blake shook her head firmly.

“I’m gonna call her right after we eat this fruit.” Yang groaned again and Blake nuzzled her head against Yang’s jaw. “But seriously, I won’t call her if you don’t want me to.”

“It’s fine,” Yang said with a one armed shrug, not wanting to jostle Blake with the side she was leaning on. “Ruby knows some stories where I’ve done some real stupid shit. But then again, I know a lot about her, so, we’re even.” Blake snorted with laughter and Yang fed her another piece of fruit.

Yeah, Blake thought as she snuggled up against Yang, weekends were great. She couldn’t want to spend every weekend like this with Yang. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I can write these days are memes or angsty reunions.   
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	14. Love and Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang hasn't thought much about Blake in the decade since she last saw her, but a brand new monster hunt throws the two of them back together.

The truck was exactly like Yang remembered it. The inside was cramped, due to the modifications in the back, the radio only played three stations, and the air conditioner only blew on hot, but it still set Yang’s heart at ease. It was easy to relax inside such a friendly environment. Besides, compared to the old days of squeezing three people into the cab, two was a luxury. 

She glanced over at Blake, who was focusing on the road. She had new scars on her face, a nasy claw mark going down one cheek and her nose was crooked permanently, but she was still just as beautiful as Yang remembered her being. It had been too long since they’d gone out on a hunt together.

“What’s up?” Blake asked and Yang remembered, not for the first time, how perceptive her friend was.

“Just taking it all in,” Yang admitted, “It’s not every day we get the band back together.”

“Almost back together,” Blake grumbled and Yang sighed with a rueful nod.

“Well, half back together.” It had been nearly a decade since their last hunt as a team, and Yang had spent almost every day wondering why they had ever stopped. Weiss had family issues to deal with and a company to take over, that was simple, but rich people always had free time. There was no reason for her to stop hunting. Blake was more complex, dealing with the fallout of that nasty business with Adam Taurus and making sure that Menagerie didn’t implode from the dual pressure of other kingdoms from the outside and an influx of Grimm from the inside. Ruby had fallen for a huntress named Penny, and fallen hard. They’d lived together, occasionally going out on hunts with Yang or on their own from time to time.

Yang had just needed a break. 

She’d dreamed about starting up a little garden and raising crops, maybe getting a dog or two, living in a tiny cottage on Patch and going grey, probably dying in her sleep. She’d tried it too, dogs included, but it hadn’t felt right. It would never feel right, she knew, unless Blake was there to start it up with her. Their affair together had been brief, only openly admitting their feelings during the waning days of their hunts together, and Yang had said that she’d be waiting on Patch for Blake to come home. 

She had never come home. It wasn’t her fault, not exactly. Politics and hunting didn’t mix, not if you wanted enough sleep and to stay sane. Blake had balanced the two expertly for the past ten years. They talked on the phone plenty, but it wasn’t the same.

Yang stared at the lines on the road while raindrops trickled down the window. Her life in the cottage had lasted a year and a half before she couldn’t take it anymore. It wasn’t the waiting, she’d sent Blake her new address in Vale and bought a queen sized bed to boot, it was the quiet. After years of fighting for her life in the shadows with her best friends, growing vegetables and throwing sticks was too calm. 

So she had taken up hunting again. It was easy to get going again, and even easier when she found out that Ruby had been going on hunts the whole time. Yang wasn’t mad, she couldn’t be mad. She’d taught her sister everything, hell, she’d taught her so well that even Yang hadn’t caught on.

Then there the hunt in the Emerald Forest. It was routine, boring almost, and that was what made it dangerous. 

“How’s Ruby doing?” Blake asked and Yang sighed, running a hand through her hair. 

“Better these day. Penny helps a lot, but you know Ruby. She wants to do everything on her own.” 

Blake nodded with a grunt and asked, “How’d Zwei take to being a guide dog.”

“Poorly, if you can imagine that,” Yang said dryly and Blake snorted with laughter. “Ruby got a dog though, a big Atlesian shepard. Calmest dog I’ve ever met.” Blake nodded again and they sat in silence for a while, Yang watching the raindrops again until Blake murmured,

“That was a bad hunt.”

“Good hunt,” Yang grunted, “Bad execution.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” 

The hotel room was, thankfully, not nearly as quiet as the car ride had been. Yang was sitting on her bed, browsing various news feeds for anything about their quarry, while Blake was taking a shower. The sound of the shower mixed beautifully with the rock music that Yang was listening to in one ear, clearing her head of old memories and preparing her for the hunt to come.

“Deathstalkers, huh?” Yang mumbled to herself as she scrolled through the news. That had been Blake’s hunch about the recent attacks they were investigating and she was rarely wrong. Strange burrows, steel pillars snapped like twigs, houses punctured like balloons...yeah, it was a deathstalker, a big one too. At the very least it wasn’t being too aggressive, which meant that the babies hadn’t been born yet. Of all the creatures that Salen had seen fit to make able to spawn more, deahtstalkers was probably one of the worst options. Yang would’ve taken apathy, beowulves, even nevemore, but not deathstalkers. You didn’t need a rifle the size of a car to kill a nevermore.

The shower cut off and a few moments later Blake walked out, her towel loosely wrapped around her body. Yang studied her scroll with new intent, trying not to stare as a blush rose up onto her cheeks. She’d known that she hadn’t gotten over Blake before this hunt, but this was ridiculous. 

“Deathstalkers?” Blake asked as she glanced at Yang on the bed.

“Y-yep. Deathstalkers,” Yang stammered out, cursing herself as she stumbled over her words. 

“Hmm,” Blake grunted as she sat on her bed and started reading a book. Yang waited for her to say something, or for something to come to mind for her to say, but there was nothing. The years had dulled their rapport and it hurt more than any wound Yang had ever received. After a while, she couldn't help it anymore and blurted out,

“What happened to us, Blake?”

“We had shit to take care of,” Blake said with a shrug, without looking up, “You wanted to retire and I had things to do in Menagerie. Ruby has Penny and Weiss is busy with SDC.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Yang said, rolling onto her side to look at Blake. Blake glanced up over the top of her book and raised an eyebrow in a silent question. “What happened to  _ us _ , Blake? You and me? What happened to the bees?” The nickname that Weiss had snidely given her and Blake slipped out without her meaning it to, but once it was said it was impossible to say it any other way. 

Blake’s ears drooped atop her head and Yang felt her heart drop at the sight. “Us?” Blake said softy and looked away. “I don’t know, Yang. We all split up and...we fell apart.  _ I _ fell apart.”

“What?” Yang asked softly and Blake sighed, slipping her bookmark into place and closing her book. 

“Why do you think I kept working so hard? I never took a break for ten years, Yang. This is the closest I’ve gotten to a vacation in a decade,” Blake muttered and Yang put her scroll back into her pocket to put her entire focus on Blake.

“Why?” she asked and Blake looked back, her eyes full of worry and hurt. 

“Because I thought that I lost you, Yang. You were so happy, on Patch. I thought you'd be happier without me.” Blake’s voice broke slightly and she sniffled, and Yang suddenly realized that she had started to cry. 

Now Yang stood and tentatively took a step towards Blake. Blake shifted over a hair and jerked her head at the now empty spot on the bed. As Yang sat she murmured, “I was happy. It was nice.” She sighed and felt her eyes begin to water and she looked up at Blake, who turned slightly to meet her eyes. They were both crying now, tears spilling slowly down their cheeks and onto the bed below. Yang reached up and wiped away a fat teardrop from Blake’s cheek gently, and Blake leaned into the contact with a soft hum. “But it wasn’t like being with you,” Yang said softly, “Even when we were out hunting and fighting for our lives, I was happier when I was with you, Blake.”

“You mean it?” Blake whispered and Yang nodded slowly, her lips cracking into a smile when Blake blushed. “Kiss me like you missed me, dragon girl.” 

Yang pressed forwards, her hand curling around from Blake’s cheek to nestle amongst her hair and their lips met in the middle. Blake moaned into the kiss and Yang tasted their tears as they kissed. Blake’s hands wrapped themselves up in Yang’s hair and pulled her down until they were laying on top of one another, still kissing furiously. Gods, it felt good to kiss Blake again. It felt good to pour out her love for someone again and to feel that love in return. 

Yang had missed Blake. She had missed their quiet conversations and their loud debates. She had missed Blake’s little smiles and the way that she could always make Yang blush. She had missed holding her, talking with her,  _ being _ with her.

But gods dammit, the only thing that Yang could think about right now was how good it felt to let Blake play with her hair again. 

Blake shifted under her and Yang leaned back a hair, giving Blake just enough room to reach up to her chest and tug at the towel. “Fucking towel,” she growled and Yang took the hint, sitting up and ripping her shirt off faster than she had thought possible. Soon they were back at it and Yang gasped as Blake grappled with her bra. Blake slowed for a moment and whispered into her ear, “Are we going too fast? We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

“It-it’s good. I’m okay with it,” Yang said, planting a small kiss on Blake’s neck and making her shudder. “Gods I’ve been wanting this for so long.”

“Ten years,” Blake murmured as she finally unhooked Yang’s bra.

Yang grunted in agreement before the two slammed their lips together again. They spent the rest of the night like that, and most of the next day. The hunt could come later. They weren’t in any shape to hunt a deathstalker, not without loading up on buckshot and grenades. 

But even then, Yang felt better than she had in years. Laying in bed, with Blake dozing on her chest, her soft snores rumbling her body, Yang felt such a well of love and happiness that she couldn’t help but smile. She fell asleep smiling, and had good dreams.

It had been ten years since she’d had good dreams. Part of her was certain that she’d only have good dreams ever again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one definitely could use some expanding...might do that in the future.   
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	15. Dating Advice with Weiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang needs help asking out the wonderful and mysterious Blake Belladonna. She turns to the only person who might be able to help.

“Weiss? You in there?” Yang asked, gently knocking on the door. It swung open, only lightly wedged in the frame, and she poked her head in. Weiss was seated at her desk, going over some files for their small company. She looked up at Yang and smiled warmly, neatly stacking the files together into a pile

“Yang!” she exclaimed, then her expression shifted into one of pure displeasure and disgust. “Go fuck yourself.” 

“Wh-wait, hang on,” Yang tried to protest, but Weiss was already on her feet, trying to slam the door closed. “What’s this about? I need your help, Weiss!”

“Oh, you don’t remember embarrassing me at the company picnic?” Weiss hissed as she threw her entire body at the door, slamming Yang’s foot, arm, and almost her head against the frame. Yang yelped and pushed, back, easily shoving Weiss far enough away to stop from getting smushed by her upset friend.

“Weiss, that was six months ago!”

“My entire dress was ruined! Ruined! And you made better potato salad than I did!”

“I didn’t know you were making potato salad,” Yang said, then grunted with effort as she shoved the door open wide enough to slip inside, “You said you were making a casserole!”

“A casserole? For a  _ picnic _ ?” Weiss exclaimed, throwing one hand up to her chest in offense, “Who do I look like, Ruby?” 

“Hang on that’s not-Look can you stop-” Yang yelped in pain again as Weiss slammed the door on her back foot, wedging her halfway in and out of the door. “Can you please stop squishing me in the door?”

“No!”

“Weiss, please! I need your help with something personal!” 

Immediately Weiss backed off, stepping away and giving Yang a long once over, as though suspicious. “What kind of personal?”

“LIke romance personal,” Yang said, rubbing her sore ankle with a grimace.

“And why, exactly, do you need me?” Weiss said, raising a judgemental eyebrow, “You’re great with women.” Yang nodded ruefully. That was true, of course, Yang could pick up women on her own with little more than a wink and a clever joke, or a pun in Yang’s case. 

“Yeah, but she’s not like other women. She’s a  _ lady _ ,” Yang said, emphasizing the word ‘lady’ to put the proper awe into it that she felt whenever she was in the same building as the woman in question.

Weiss narrowed her eyes. “Who?”

“Blake Belladonna.” Yang couldn’t keep the almost reverent tone of voice from popping up as she said her name. Blake was a stunningly beautiful woman, she was clever, funny, kind, and passionate to a degree that was almost unbelievable. She was everything that Yang wanted in a girlfriend, but Yang had no experience in the same kind of upper class circles that Blake ran in.

There was a moment of stunned silence, then Weiss started to laugh. She doubled over, clutching her stomach as though in pain and managed, “B-Blake Belladonna? And  _ you _ ? Oh my gods, this has to be a prank, right?” Yang frowned and folded her arms across her chest, as Weiss continued, “C’mon out Ruby, I know you’re filming this.” She looked around when Ruby failed to materialize, “Ruby? Penny?” Then she met Yang’s eyes and her own widened in shock. “Oh my gods, you’re serious.” 

“Y-yeah,” Yang said, feeling a flush of embarrassment as Weiss narrowed her eyes once more. 

“Why should I help you?”

“Cause we’re friends?” Yang asked in confusion and Weiss shook her head. Of course, Yang thought with a roll of her eyes, everything was a negotiation with Weiss. Too long running the numbers and being a captain of industry to give anything away for free if Yang had to guess. “Because you’re the only person who can help me.”

“And why is that?” Weiss asked and Yang sighed. She knew exactly what Weiss wanted to hear. 

“Because...because…”

“Say it.”

“Cause...really, Weiss?”

“Really. Now say it.”

Yang ran a hand through her hair in exasperation and said, “Because you’re classier than me.”

Weiss broke into a self satisfied smirk and nodded curtly. “I’ll help you.”

“Wait, really?” Yang said, brightening up immediately.

“On one condition,” Weiss said, grabbing her scroll from her desk and turning on the camera, recording Yang. “Say that again.”

  
  


The next morning, at six o’clock sharp, Yang was trying not to fall asleep in Weiss’ office as Weiss stood before her like a drill sergeant. It was a behaviour so similar to her sister Winter, who was a drill sergeant, that Yang’s sleepy brain almost confused the two. “All right!” Weiss shouted, starling Yang awake a bit more and making her jump. “Blake Belladonna will be at this company on Monday to work out a business deal. We have forty eight hours to turn you from…” she gestured vaguely at Yang, who was wearing her usual casual wear of a flannel and leggings, what Ruby had deemed ‘lesbian fashion’. “Whatever this is to a proper lady,” Weiss finished her thought and Yang frowned.

“I’m a proper lady-” she started to protest but Weiss cut her off.

“First, we’ll dive right into your technique.” She stood stock straight and glared at Yang. “Seduce me.” 

“What?” 

“You heard me. Pretend that I’m Blake. Seduce me.”

“Uh...okay…” Yang said slowly and stood from her chair. She sidled up to Weiss as best she could, trying to push past the awkwardness of trying to seduce someone who was both her best friend and, technically, her boss. Still, she settled into her usual routine, leaning on the desk next to Weiss and winked playfully at her. “Hey. I’m looking fo-”

“Worthless!” Weiss screeched, pushing herself off the desk and pointing angrily at Yang’s chair. “Sit!”

Yang sat in confusion, trying to work out in her mind how she had messed up that quickly. “What did I do?”

“Blake isn’t one of your gym rat trollops,” Weiss snapped, “She’s practically a princess on Menagerie. If you think that whatever  _ that _ was is going to get the attention of someone from high society, you’ve got another thing coming.”

Yang fought against being offended for a moment, letting her anger go with a long, low breath. “Okay,” she said finally, “So what do I do?”

Weiss walked around her desk and pulled up the double sided whiteboard on wheels that she always used for workshopping ideas. With a flourish she flipped it over, revealing no less that ninety five points that Yang was going to need to work on. Yang groaned and put her head in her hands even as Weiss pointed to the first item on the list. “We’ll begin with fashion.”

The next two days were a blur for Yang as she tried to shove a lifetime of lessons into forty eight hours. Some were easier than others, Yang took to dancing like a fish to water, but others, like wine selection, were still on the rocks. For the life of her, Yang couldn’t understand why someone would need so many options. Just order a strawberry sunrise and forget about it.

Some of the lessons themselves were also more practical than others. Learning the delicate art of how to discuss jewelry while properly making polite, high class conversation, was nearly impossible in a modern office building. Some were just downright ridiculous, like doing pushups while Weiss read emails on her back. When Yang had asked what that was all about, Weiss had shrugged and said she’d needed a small break. 

Still, by Sunday evening, with Yang falling asleep on her feet, Weiss gave her a final once over. “Last question,” she said firmly and Yang looked up with bleary eyes. “You take Blake out to dinner. She’s wearing a crimson dress with a pearl necklace and earrings. She wants wine, and you order her a delicate blanc to go with her smoked salmon. You eat the sirloin steak with a strong cabernet. As Blake finishes, she wants dessert and offers to let you order. What dessert do you order for you two to share?”

“A mango sorbet,” Yang said with a tired sigh, “It’ll cleanse the palette nicely.”

Weiss let out a small, happy sigh and nodded. “Congratulations, Yang. You’re a lady of high society now.” She paused in thought and said, “An honorary lady of high society.”

“Thanks Weiss,” Yang said with yawn, “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I am the best, aren’t I?” Weiss said and Yang rolled her eyes. “Make sure you look good tomorrow, and don’t ask her while she’s busy.”

“I always look good,” Yang said, already dreading wearing the matching suit and tie that Weiss had insisted she buy when asking Blake out. Weiss rolled her eyes and waved Yang to the door, which Yang nearly bolted out of. It was only seven in the evening, but she felt like collapsing then and there. Besides, she was going to need all her faculties tomorrow if she was going to successfully ask out Blake Belladonna.

“So then I said, ‘Beowulf? More like heyo-wulf!’” Yang concluded her story, and Nora broke into snorting laughter. Yang had gotten to the office early, both to have more coffee than she would like to admit and to spend some time just hanging out with her friends before the workday came and she had to be all high class. Nora chugged the last of her coffee and said,

“That story cracks me up every time. Hey, you doing anything this weekend? Ren and I were gonna head to the beach before it gets too cold, if you wanna come along.”

“Sure!” Yang said happily, “I’d love to. Though I might have to leave early, I’m trying to get a date with-” As if on cue Blake Belladonna came into view, dressed impeccable as ever in her black suit with purple tie. She was the only person in the office, possibly in existence, who could wear fingerless gloves with a suit and still make it look classy. Yang had to fight to keep from droning on in a single, monotonous tone as she saw Blake, but Nora followed her eye and gave her a knowing smile.

Oh gods, what had Weiss said to do first? Not talk to her when she was busy, obviously, but right  _ now _ wasn’t busy, was it? It was just kinda early, but maybe Blake wanted to be left alone? But if Yang waited until the end of the day she’d be too tired from work to remember her lessons and Blake would probably just ignore her anyway. Even if she did manage to talk to her, what had Weiss said was the proper- “Hey Miss Belladonna!” Nora said, waving at the woman. Blake Belladonna’s cat ears flicked towards Nora and she turned to follow them, smiling tersely as she saw the pair of women. She walked up and into the small break room they were standing in, and everything that Yang had learned from Weiss vanished with a puff of smoke.

“Good morning Miss Valkyrie, Miss Xiao Long.” She gave Yang a once over and raised an appreciative eyebrow. “Nice suit.” 

“Th-thanks!” Yang said, immediately regretting speaking at all. She sounded eager, too eager, almost like a dog waiting for praise. That was for sure going to turn Blake Belladonna away. Yang was so caught up in her own head that she almost didn’t hear Nora say, 

“...to ask you something, right Yang?”

Yang stared at Nora in alarm, then snapped to Blake Belladonna, who was giving her an expectant look. “Uh, it’s just that-I mean-You-I-I-” Yang let out a long breath and shook her head in exasperation. Everything was falling apart, but somehow she still managed to speak a complete sentence. “I was wondering if you wanted to go out to dinner with me?”

“Sure.”

Yang might have broken into another stammered sentence, trying to form the words ‘wait’ and ‘what’ as well as a few other words to express her confusion. Blake Belladonna seemed to sense this and smiled with amusement.

“I’ll go out to dinner with you. There’s a restaurant I’ve been dying to go to, so do you mind if we go there? It’s a little Menagerian place on the river.”

“N-no,” Yang stammered out, “Th-that sounds great, Miss Belladonna.”

“Then I’ll see you in the parking lot after work,” Blake Belladonna said as she turned to go. SHe looked back as she walked away, shooting Yang a wink, “And call me Blake.”

Yang nodded, too stunned to speak, only able to stare as Blake walked away, sliding off her jacket and slinging it over her shoulder. When she finally could speak, all she managed to say was a whispered, “Okay, Blake.” 

The end of the work day was still eight long, long hours away and Yang knew they would seem ever longer now. But she had a date with Blake Belladonna. That was worth any long work day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ruby did nothing but teleport bread for three days.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments always appreciated!


	16. Bikers and Bartenders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On a journey of self discovery, Yang stops into a tiny bar on Menagerie where she meets one hell of a bartender.

Yang slid off her flannel, letting it rest on the back of her chair, and stretched. The bartender, Blake by her nametag, gave her muscular arms an appreciative once over. "Trying to impress someone?"

"Depends how easy you are to impress," Yang said with a wink and Blake the bartender rolled her eyes.

"I'll be more impressed when you order something to drink," she said flatly and Yang grinned.

"Strawberry sunrise, no ice."

Blake snorted with laughter as she set about making the drink. "I should've pegged you for a fruity drink kinda girl."

"Why? You don't think I can handle the strong stuff?" Yang asked and Blake rolled her eyes again.

"I know your type. Big, buff girl who talks a big game but can't handle her whiskey. I run into three of you a week, babe."

Yang's grin grew as she sensed a challenge, and she said, "Try me. What's your best?"

"You can't afford my best."

"Then what's your favorite?"

Now it was Blake's turn to grin and she leaned over the bar until she was nearly nose to nose with Yang. It was good that Yang was feeling cocky or being that close to such a beautiful woman might have turned her into a stammering mess. "Tuskon '55, made right here in Menagerie. Rumor has it that humans can't keep it down."

"Try me," Yang said again and Blake smirked.

"You're on, babe." She leaned back and turned to the back shelf, standing on her toes to get a bottle from the top shelf. Yang took a moment to appreciate the way Blake's uniform hugged her body, especially her pants, then leaned back on the bar as Blake turned around again. The bartender smiled a sly, devious smile, and said, "See something you like?"

"Just the drink you grabbed," Yang said innocently, then added, "and the beautiful woman who grabbed it."

"Keep talking blondie," Blake drawled as she poured a shot of the whiskey and slid it to Yang, "you might even catch my attention."

"I thought you were pretty attentive earlier," Yang shot back, flexing one of her arms for emphasis, which made Blake roll her eyes.

"Let's just see how you handle your liquor." Yang felt a giddy thrill of excitement and downed the shot without a second thought.

She immediately felt like throwing up. The alcohol burned her throat like acid and something in it made her stomach do flips, but she put on her best cocky smile and let out a satisfied, "Ah. Delicious."

Blake raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Wow. You're better than most."

"How many humans you have come through here?"

"A few. You're the only one who's caught my eye." Even as she said it, Yang knew there was more and she felt the competitive itch that had made her a boxing champion spill over once more. "But I'm still not convinced. Think you can do another?"

"If I get to impress you?" Yang asked, glad that the cold air of the bar soothed her now aching throat, "Hell, I'll do a hundred of those damn things." Yang felt like she could do a second, maybe. On a good day. But she wasn't lying about wanting to impress Blake, and Blake smirked again.

"Drink up, blondie," Blake said and Yang slung the shot back, getting it down fast enough that it didn't burn as bad this time. She still gripped the stool like a lifeline to keep from doubling over and retching all over the floor, but the impressed smile on Blake's face made it worthwhile.

"How's that for impressive?" Yang asked with a wink and Blake leaned forward again, until she could whisper into Yang's ear.

"Top or bottom?"

"What?" Yang asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"Are you a top or a bottom?" Blake asked and Yang blushed heavily before asking,

"Why?"

"Because the bartender wants to fuck her new favorite customer," Blake said with a shrug, as though it were the simplest thing in the world. "So, top or bottom?"

"Uh...I…" In truth, Yang had never really thought about it. She was fine with anything, really. "Switch?"

"So am I," Blake murmured, "lucky you." Yang's throat had run dry and all she could do was nod. "My shift ends at one. Don't fall asleep on me."

"Yes ma'am," Yang said without even thinking and she heard Blake laugh softly.

"Good girl." Yang felt a rush of heat from her core and blushed scarlet while Blake leaned back with a wink and went back to work. She checked her scroll, partly for the time and partly to avoid looking so embarrassed. A little after ten. One o'clock couldn't come soon enough.

The next morning Yang woke up groggily. She looked around the unfamiliar room blearily, a hazy memory of stumbling inside, kissing Blake the bartender furiously, and one thing had led to another and...well, here she was: waking up in bed with a beautiful woman curled around her body. As she shifted and woke up, Blake stirred and Yang looked over to see her staring with a look just a hair short of wonder.

“You stuck around,” Blake said bluntly and Yang frowned.

“Uh...yeah? I’m not that kinda girl.” It was meant to be a joke, but Blake just sighed and nodded slowly.

“Gotcha,” she mumbled and rolled over, making Yang frown.

“What’s up? You had people run off before?” she asked and Blake nodded as she sat up, throwing the covers aside. Yang took a moment to admire her strong back muscles, as well as the large nightshade tattoo across her back.

“A few times, yeah. Figured you would too. Most humans do,” Blake said as she scrabbled around on the ground, finding a shirt and some baggy short. “Breakfast?”

Yang’s stomach growled, answering for her, and she said, “Please.” She sat up as well, finding her flannel and jeans. “Why do humans run off?” 

Blake snorted derisively and said, “They don’t want to admit that they fucked a Faunus. Eggs sound okay?”

“Uh, sure,” Yang said as she stood, buttoning her shirt up halfway and turning to see Blake walking out the door and into a small kitchen nearby. “I’m not like that, so no worries.”

“Yeah, not yet,” Blake said with a shrug, digging around in her fridge. “I’m making them over easy, so I hope you like those.”

“Love them,” Yang said honestly, stepping into the kitchen and trying not to take offense at Blake’s suspicion of her. Humans were nasty creatures, Yang had discovered. It was no big surprise that Blake had run into a few of the worse ones. “You got any bread? We could make breakfast sandwiches.”

Blake pursed her lips in thought as she stood over the stove with some eggs, and said, “I should. Check the table.” Yang nodded and turned, taking in the rest of the apartment. It was simple and serviceable, a small dining room near the kitchen and the bedroom nearby. Yang frowned again and scratched her head in confusion as she snatched up the bread.

“Your apartment doesn't have a bathroom?” she asked as she brought the bread over. Blake shrugged as she cooked,

“Nah. This was an office space originally, I just use the one in the bar downstairs, it’s got a shower and everything. Why? You need it?”

“Just curious,” Yang said as she opened the bread bag and grabbed four slices, “You live above the bar?”

“Sure.”

Yang had expected a bit more, but when Blake didn’t expand on the point she let it go. There was a long moment of silence between them, punctuated by the sizzling of the eggs in the pan. “I uh...enjoyed last night.”

“You don’t really remember last night, do you?” Blake asked and Yang smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of her neck in embarrassment. 

“Not really. But I slept well, so that’s a good start.” Blake laughed softly at that and Yang grinned in response. 

“I bet you did. We were up for hours, didn’t get to bed until four.”

“F-really?” Yang asked and Blake gestured at the clock above the stove, which read 2:38. “Shit, I gotta call my dad,” Yang said, fishing around in her pocket for her scroll, then groaning and dashing into Blake’s room to find it on the floor near her shoes and undershirt. She checked it, finding a missed call and a message from both her father and sister. The one from her father was a simple, “Call me when you can kiddo!” and from Ruby was a much longer text that started with her first day of school at Beacon and meanered into asking for relationship advice. That one was going to take some time to answer, and probably a whole phone call of its own. As Yang wnaedered back into the kitchen, checking her scroll, Blake raised an eyebrow and asked,

“You have to call your dad?”

“Hmm?” Yang said, looking up at Blake, “Oh, yeah. I’m on this whole world tour, self discovery thing and he wants me to call him every week so that he knows that I’m, you know, alive.”

Blake rolled her eyes and grumbled, “Fuck, you’re not a begpacker are you? I hate those bastards.”

“What? No!” Yang said, almost offended at the assumption, “I pay for this my damn self, thank you very much.” That make Blake smile, a small thing but it was there and Yang continued, “I worked for, like, three years to afford the first half. Got me through Vale and Vacuo.”

“Low paying job, huh?” Blake asked and Yang sighed, leaning on the counter.

“Yeah, you could say that. Waitressing isn’t exactly cushy, especially when you’re living on your own.” Blake winced in vicarious pain and nodded in agreement. “But whatever. Bought my bike with that money and started my trip. Been traveling for a couple years now.”

Blake nodded again, then asked, “You said Vale and Vacuo, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So how’d you get here?”

“I work odd jobs,” Yang said with a shrug, “I was a PE teacher in Atlas for a while, a barista in Mantle, then a tour guide in Mistral. I didn’t know a thing about Mistral, I still don’t.” Blake snorted with laughter and Yang joined in. “That got me here, so I guess I’m looking again. You know anybody hiring?”

As Blake slid the eggs onto the waiting pieces of bread and all but drowned them in cheese, she said, “I am, actually. My line cook needs some help in the back. You know how to cook?”

“Yeah, I know how. I cooked for my whole family for a long time,” Yang said with a shrug, hiding the flash of pain in her chest at the thought. Blake didn’t need to know why she’d been in that position, didn’t need to know about Summer and Raven and all the bullshit that had sent Yang on her self discovery tour in the first place. “How much does it pay?”

“Minimum,” Blake said, offering Yang one of the sandwiches. “And before you get snippy with me about it, I get paid less and survive on tips.” 

“I wasn’t gonna-” Yang started to say, then saw Blake’s smile behind her sandwich. She rolled her eyes playfully and said, “Sounds great.” They ate in silence for a moment, then Yang asked, “Any spare apartments around here?”

“Sure, a few. You got anywhere to stay in the meanwhile?” Blake asked and Yang smiled sheepishly again.

“Not really. I wasn’t looking cause I didn’t know where I’d be working.”

“Fair enough,” Blake took another bite of her sandwich, then said, “You can stay here.”

“Wait, really?” Yang asked and Blake nodded.

“Until you find a place, sure.”

“How much is rent?” Yang asked and Blake rolled her eyes.

“You keeping fucking me that good and you do a good job in the kitchen, and I’ll cut you a good deal.”

“So what does that make us? Coworkers with benefits?” Yang asked with a cocky smile and Blake shot her a glare. “Sorry.”

“Yeah, sure,” Blake said with another roll of her eyes, then added, “Good girl.”

Yang shuddered at that, feeling that same shock of heat from the night before and Blake laughed as Yang turned beet red. This was going to be an interesting stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of a potential longer fic that will probably get completed one of these days.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	17. The Happy Huntress Tea Shop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter takes a well deserved day off and finds a lovely little tea shop.

Everything was awful. Being in the military was awful. Being on leave was awful. Having left her siblings behind was awful. In short, Winter was having a rather awful time of it right now. 

She didn’t want to think about going back to base, even if she knew she would have to later that evening. Such was the fate of anyone who had gone career in the Atlas military, living on base was a must. Even the brass had places within the various military bases Atlas controlled. It was all fine not to pay rent and to have food supplied, if you wanted to eat the slop in the mess hall, but Winter had increasingly needed space from that part of her life. Maybe it was the friendly interactions she’d had with the newest Ace Op, Marrow, or perhaps it was seeing her sister so happy and free with her new friends in team RWBY. Whatever it was, Winter needed to get off the base more than she liked to admit. She’d been taking away missions for weeks now just to get some fresh air. It was preferable to being stuck behind a desk. 

Today though she didn’t have a mission, nor was she scouting out new places to find recruits, or even investigating some of the seedier parts of Atlas on her own time. Today she was following some of Marrow’s advice and visiting a tea shop downtown. He’d come back from a day of leave of his own and had nothing but good things to say about it, positively gushing to Winter then next time they’d talked. So, here she was staring at the sign above the tea shop which had a strange spear-crossbow combination weapon symbol next to the name ‘Happy Huntress Tea Shop’. Winter sighed and stepped inside. She could do with something warm to drink, anyway, even if she didn’t wind up liking the place as much as Marrow. 

The inside was as though someone had taken a log cabin and placed it in the middle of a city. The tables and chairs looked as though they were rough hewn wood, there was a scent of pine needles in the air, and even a roaring fireplace in the corner. It was homely and comfortable and Winter almost wanted to lie to herself when she realized how much it put her at ease. 

It was a feeling of ease that lasted only until she saw the woman behind the counter, at which point it was abruptly replaced by a flash of nervousness and red hot attraction. The woman in question was breathtakingly beautiful, violet eyes studying Winter casually as she twirled her blonde hair around one finger, her eyebrow raised in such a way that Winter almost fainted. She had never been one to find strangers attractive, her life was far too rigid and disciplined for that, but this woman took all her previous notions of what ‘attractive’ was and blew them out of the water. She wasn’t just attractive, Winter mused, she could’ve been mistaken for a goddess. 

“Hey there. Welcome to the Happy Huntress. What can I get for you?” the woman asked and Winter was nearly overwhelmed by the fact that even the woman’s voice was attractive, assertive and proud as though she owned the whole world. 

Winter’s mouth flapped open and she suddenly found that she wasn’t sure how to speak anymore. It took a lot to faze Winter Schnee, usually an artillery barrage and a venomous snake did the trick, but right now this woman had her mind reeling like a drunk. She scanned the menu above the woman’s head, barely registering any of it, and blurted out, “Three?”

The woman frowned for a split second then said, “Oh, a number three. Sure, coming right up.” She turned to get started on Winter’s order and Winter finally managed to force her eyes to send information to her brain properly and read what a number three was. She recoiled in horror and said,

“Actually, sorry that’s not what I want. I’ll just take a black coffee.” 

The woman turned with a knowing smirk that made Winter’s heart do backflips and said, “Figured. You didn’t seem like a pumpkin spice kind of girl.”

“Right. That-that’s not-right,” Winter stammered and the woman’s expression grew concerned. She leaned on the counter and gestured Winter forwards, reaching up and feeling her forehead with the back of her hand.

“Are you okay? Your temperature feels fine.”

“Fine! I’m fine,” Winter managed to say, but didn’t manage to keep herself from saying, “I’m just-You’re really pretty.” 

The woman laughed and Winter nearly fainted from how beautiful a sound it was. She joined in nervously and the woman shook her head ruefully. “I’ve never made someone forget how to speak before. Thanks though, you’re pretty easy on the eyes yourself.” Winter felt a surge of pride the likes of which she hadn’t since she’d graduated top of her class from Atlas Academy. 

“Thanks,” Winter breathed out as the woman winked at her, trailing her hand down her cheek and tracing the line of her jaw. 

“Black coffee, right?” 

“Yeah.”

Winter waited patiently as the woman got her coffee, sliding it across the counter to her and accepting her card to pay. It was almost a blur as Winter watched the woman work, making even the simple act of pouring coffee look unbelievably attractive. The woman leaned back on the counter as Winter put her wallet away and said, “Maybe I’ll see you again?”

“I’d like that,” Winter said softly and the woman smiled. For a moment there was nobody else in the whole world but the two of them and Winter decided that she wouldn’t have it any other way. But then the door opened and someone else walked in, the woman greeted them with the same greeting she’d given Winter, and the moment was over. Winter waved awkwardly at her, cursing her own nervousness, before stepping outside. 

She took a long sip from her coffee, enjoying the heat it provided to her as she did so. As she lowered the coffee from her lips, she noticed something scribbled on the cup in between her fingers. A moment’s investigation later revealed a phone number and the words, ‘Call me-Robyn’. 

With a soldier’s discipline Winter both memorized the number and put it into her scroll. With absolute joy she let out a soft squeal as she realized that she was definitely going to see that beautiful woman named Robyn again. She couldn’t wait. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty HOT coffee, huh Winter?  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	18. Blake Belladonna-Vampire Hunter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In an exerpt from another AU that might get finished one day, Blake is busy hunting down a vampire in Mountain Glenn. She never expected that a familiar blonde would show up and change everything.

Blake never believed in bad luck brought on by black cats, despite her firm belief in many other supernatural entities and powers. The sheer amount of times she ran into Yang or that Yang came into the library almost changed her mind about that, then again it would be a rotten toss of the dice to be given bad luck by yourself. Blake considered dying her hair a shade lighter, as though that would help. 

Still, it wasn’t as though Yang  _ tried  _ to find her, it was all happenstance. Yang had begun to work as a waitress at a diner that Blake enjoyed from time to time, which was hardly suspect as it was the only diner in Mountain Glenn. With how much time Blake spent in the library it was almost inevitable that someone with as voracious an appetite for knowledge as Yang would show up. It surprised Blake that Yang wanted to spend as much time reading as she did, though Blake cursed herself for her own prejudices. Yang had seemed more like the kind of person who would rather spend time working out or playing video games than reading, but she took out more books that a dozen other people combined. It was almost startling, though Blake could already feel a warm fondness for the woman growing in her chest. She did love someone who loved to read, and Yang seemed to do nothing but.

It was, officially, against protocol to draw conclusions about a person based on what they were reading, but Blake had found it helped her to suggest books to people when they needed new things to read. For some people, it was easy: romances were easy to suggest and, depending on the raunchiness of the title, Blake could easily decide which authors would best suit a person’s...preferences. What they were doing with the books wasn’t her business. Likewise, Blake had figured out the members of the Mountain Glenn Historical Society based on their reading preferences alone, long before she’d been introduced to their organization. Yang was no exception to her growing expertise at pinning a person’s interests based on their reading interests. Yang was, like she had said, an amateur astronomer and so half the books she took out were about the movement of stars and sciences therein. Most of the books were so thick and dense that it gave Blake a headache reading the titles. The other half of her books were a mixed bag, but Blake could infer quite a bit based on them. Yang’s new place was probably a fixer upper, based on how many DIY books she checked out, and almost certainly had a large garden based on the horticulture books. When it came to light reading for enjoyment, Yang had taken to science fiction and urban fantasy, and Blake had taken quite a few notes on books to read herself based on Yang’s enthusiastic recommendations. Already, Blake had a sizable list of books to read and was finding herself quite enjoying the one she’d picked up.  _ The Grimm Adventures of Sunny and Shadow _ wasn’t her usual fare, all monster hunting in a gritty urban setting teeming with wizards, gods, and lesbians, but it was good. It was also the first of a fifteen part series, and Blake had been feeling in the mood for something long form. 

She looked up from the book to see Yang walk in, hair done up in a neat bun and sporting a fetching leather jacket. She also looked absolutely exhausted. 

“Hey,” she said as she approached the desk, settling down at one of the tables laid out in front of it, “you mind if I sit?”

“It’s a public library,” Blake said with an amused smile, “I can’t stop you.”

“Just making sure,” Yang said as she sat with a loud grunt. She grimaced as she sat and reached back to rub at her lower back. 

“Long shift at work?” Blake asked, idly skimming the pages in front of her.

“Very,” Yang groaned, “And I couldn’t get any sleep last night either, so that’s fun.”

“No sleep? Why not?” Blake asked, glancing out the corner of her eye to see Yang sprawled out on the chair as though to stretch every muscle in her body. The sight brought a smile to her face and she shook her head at the strangeness of the blonde woman.

Yang rolled her neck a few times, grimacing all the while, and said, “My family likes to have these big group calls once a month. It’s a lot to handle all at once. I love it, cause I don’t talk to my family much out here, but it’s a long night. Especially my sister, I swear she’s allergic to the idea of sleeping.”

Blake laughed and shook her head, she knew people like that. “I bet it’s nice to talk to her though.”

“Oh, I love it,” Yang said quickly, now stretching out her arms, “But, like, I told her I had work the next morning and she just kept talking. I get it, college is busy and she needs to pass and she’s nervous, but...fuck, I can’t help her over the phone, you know?”

“I understand that,” Blake said with a roll of her eyes, “You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve had to explain to my parents that I’m actually happy out here.”

“They still think you’re a kid, huh?”

“Their little panther cub.”

Yang let out a small gasp and smiled at that, “Little panther cub? That’s adorable!”

“It was adorable when I was six, but I’m an adult now,” Blake said with a roll of her eyes, “I shouldn’t have to put up with that.”

“They love you,” Yang said, “They wouldn’t care if they didn’t, you know?”

“Yeah, I suppose,” Blake said, then turned to face Yang fully, “So, how’re things with you? I don’t really see you outside of work, are you enjoying town?”

“Oh, yeah!” Yang said with an enthusiastic smile, “Everything’s great up here! Lots of nice people, plenty of woods to go hiking in, a lot of places to hang out. I mean, I prefer hanging out in the library,” she said with a wink, “but there’s lots of places to chill.”

Blake couldn’t help the blush that spread up her cheeks at the wink and wished that she’d stayed buried in her book to hide it. So instead she decided to try and ignore it. “You basically live here,” she teased lightly and Yang nodded ruefully, “You almost spend as much time here as I do.”

“It’s a great place, and I love reading. Where else would I be?” Yang asked with a shrug, then her right shoulder popped as she stretched it. Blake leapt to her feet in alarm but Yang waved her concern away with a smile. “It’s fine, that always happens. Bad joints run in the family, apparently.”

“Well warn me next time,” Blake muttered and Yang laughed with a small nod.

“Will do,” she said then rolled her shoulder a few times, smiling in satisfaction. “So, you’re reading the  _ Sunny and Shadow _ series?”

“At your recommendation, yes,” Blake said, holding up the book, “I’m still on the first one, so don’t spoil anything for me.”

Yang held up her hands in a peacemaking gesture, her smile only growing, “I’m glad somebody else is reading them, I’ll finally have somebody to talk about them with.”

“That sounds like a good time,” Blake said, fishing out a bookmark and committing fully to the conversation. “Maybe after I finish reading the first book, we can chat about them?”

“Sure!” Yang said, and Blake fancied if she wasn’t so sore she might have leapt out of her chair in excitement. “Gods, you’re gonna love Shadow’s arc, I can already tell. It’s so cool!”

“Don’t spoil anything!” Blake said with a teasing smile and Yang shrugged.

“I’m not spoiling anything, I’m just saying it’s a good arc.”

“Well-fine,” Blake said and Yang stretched her neck to the side for a moment before continuing.

“Maybe we can hang out before then too? I don’t know how quickly you read and I’d...kinda like to get to know you.”

The question took Blake aback, as did the fact that someone wanted to get to know her. Most people in Mountain Glenn were perfectly willing to let her just be the librarian and nothing more. Then again, two outsiders bonding wasn’t exactly unheard of. In a place like Mountain Glenn, where being born there was akin to being a king, they would have to bind together in order to stay sane. Blake had been fine on her own for the past few years, well not  _ really _ on her own, but Yang seemed like the kind of person who fed off social interaction. Besides, it would be nice to have a friend who wasn’t only interested in seeing her on the first day of the month. 

“That...sounds like a good idea,” Blake said after a long moment of consideration. “I’m free on Tuesdays, if you’re around.”

Yang beamed back at her, her long blonde tresses bobbing as she nodded enthusiastically, “I can make next tuesday work, my boss is pretty flexible. So what do you want to do?”

“Oh, I’ll have finished the book by then,” Blake said with a shrug. “But other than that? I don’t know really. I haven’t really hung out with anyone in a while.”

“We can chill in the park if you want,” Yang said with a hopeful smile and Blake nodded slowly.

“That sounds fun.”

“Okay! We’ll meet there around...two?”

“I can do that,” Blake said, the back of her mind already planning out what she might wear. She hardly had anything that could be used for running around in the park, but hopefully that wasn’t what Yang had in mind. 

“Sounds like a plan,” Yang said as she stood, still smiling happily. She reminded Blake of a dog, and could almost picture a tail wagging behind her. It was such a ridiculous image that Blake almost burst out laughing until she remembered the date of that particular Tuesday, and what came before it.

“I might be a bit sluggish that Tuesday,” she said, already apologizing for something that hadn’t even happened but Yang shrugged, her smile never faltering.

“No worries, we’ll just take it easy,” she said and Blake felt her body relax at the thought. Taking it easy was exactly what she needed after meeting Adam that coming month. They smiled at one another for a moment and Blake couldn't help but feel her relaxation deepening as she gazed at Yang. It was like she was a calming presence all on her own, even with her endless energy. It was remarkable and Blake could feel herself growing more comfortable in Yang’s presence. What a strange thing it was, to know someone who could calm her down so easily. And they were still just acquaintances, what might friendship bring?

Blake cleared her throat and her mind, returning to a professional attitude as she spied her boss, Glynda Goodwitch, slipping between the stacks. “So, what can I help you with today?”

Yang glanced over her shoulder, seeing Miss Goodwitch vanish into another column of bookcases. “Just some renewals today,” Yang said with a shrug and Blake set to work. They chatted a bit more as Blake renewed Yang’s books, and eventually Yang waved and said goodbye for the day, still beaming. Blake couldn’t help the small smile that spread across her own face as she watched the blonde head for the door. She was excited, undeniably so at the thought of getting to know somebody. Even for an introvert, Blake wasn’t much for social interaction. Still, she had to admit that she’d missed hanging out with someone. Yang seemed like the perfect person to become friends with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently everything is vampires this October. I'm not complaining!  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	19. The Bee's Schnees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a lazy morning, Yang gets a surprise from Blake in the form of Weiss.

The knock on the door startled Yang, making her jerk backwards and sit upright, interrupting her kiss with Blake. Well, it was one of their kisses, in a long series of kisses that afternoon as they promptly ignored a movie in favor of entertainment of another fashion. Yang raised an eyebrow at the door to the apartment, visible from the couch in the living room, then shook her head and leaned back down to kiss Blake again, who wore a smug smile that made Yang’s heart melt. 

Another knock. Yang sighed into Blake’s lips. “I should probably get that,” she murmured and Blake smirked. 

“Yeah, probably,” she said as Yang swung her leg over Blake’s hips and stood up. Yang looked back at her girlfriend and scowled good naturedly at the knowing glint in her eyes.

“Do you know something about this?” she asked and Blake shrugged innocently, a little too innocently in Yang’s opinion.

“If it’s who I think it is, then yes. If it’s not, then no.” Yang sighed again with a small smile and headed for the door. She swung it open revealing Weiss, nervously shifting from foot to foot. If it wasn’t strange enough to see Weiss leave her penthouse apartment on team RWBY’s day off, the utter lack of confidence threw Yang for a loop.

“H-hi,” Weiss muttered, “Can I come in?”

“Oh!” Yang exclaimed, opening the door fully and stepping aside, “Sure! What’s up, Weiss?” Weiss stepped inside so quickly it was almost a hop, and immediately set about the several minute long process of taking off her boots. “You planning to stay a while?” Yang asked with a small smile and Weiss laughed, a small, nervous titter more than anything. 

There was a long moment of awkward silence, then Weiss said, “Did Blake not tell you about this?”

“About what?” Yang asked, brow furrowing in confusion. Weiss huffed and shot a glare at Blake, who was now reclining on the couch with a book, trying to act like she wasn’t watching the goings on at the front door. 

“She said it was a surprise, and that she’d told you it was coming today,” Weiss said. Yang frowned in thought, vaguely remembering that conversation a few days ago, but she had barely been awake and had been more concerned with convincing Blake to come back to bed and snuggle than be warned about surprises. Weiss let out a groan of exasperation and gently tucked her boots into the corner of the entryway, then stormed towards Blake. “Blake, did you not remind her about this?”

“I told her something was happening, sure,” Blake said, holding her hands up a peacemaking gesture, “It wouldn’t be a very good surprise if I said what it was, would it?”

Yang followed Weiss into the living room, seeing that Weiss had already taken her spot on the couch. “So...uh...what’s the surprise?” she asked, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly. Blake and Weiss exchanged a knowing look, and Weiss gestures for Blake to explain.

“So, you remember when we liberated Atlas a few months back?” Blake asked and Yang sighed, folding her arms across her chest.

“For, like, the fourth time, yeah.”

“And you remember how in the afterparty, you, Weiss, and I all got really drunk?” Yang nodded slowly, furrowing her brow as she followed along in her memory, “And how we had a three way make out session?” Blake asked and Yang nodded again, shooting Weiss a sheepish smile.

“Sorry about that, Weiss,” she muttered and Weiss shrugged, picking up where Blake had left off.

“It’s fine, Yang. Recently, I was, well Blake and I, were wondering if we wanted to make that a more regular event?” Weiss pursed her lips pensively and Blake leaned forwards in anticipation as Yang turned the information over in her mind for a moment, then gasped in realization.

“Wait so me-and-and you,” she gestured at Blake, “and  _ you _ ,” she gestured at Weiss, then, words failing her, entwined her fingers together in front of her. “Together?” 

“To put it crudely, yes,” Weiss said with a grimace and Yang stared in shock at the two of them. A beat of silence passed, and Weiss asked, “So, how do we...I mean, do you two want to...start something and I’ll join in, or…” She trailed off meaningfully and Blake sighed, glancing up at Yang.

“Are you okay with this, Yang? We don’t have to do this,” she asked, and a warmth of love pushed through Yang’s confusion and shock. Even now, with such a strange predicament, Blake cared so damn much that it made Yang’s heart melt. She took a deep breath and nodded slowly, smiling as she began to warm to the idea. 

“Yeah,” she said, “I think I am. And we can stop if anyone feels uncomfortable?” Blake and Weiss both nodded and Yang grinned. She glanced at Weiss and let her eyes fall lazily to her lips, then back to her eyes before winking at her. “Hey.” Weiss flushed red immediately and Blake snickered with delight as Yang approached, kneeling in front of Weiss. “You mind, hon?” she asked Blake, who waved them ahead. 

Yang reached out and gently cupped Weiss’ cheek, stroking down her cheek with one thumb. Weiss shuddered at the contact, leaning forwards when Yang drew her hand towards herself. She leaned in to meet Weiss, and the two kissed tenderly. It was a soft, stiff kind of kiss, one that spoke of Weiss’ rigid discipline and her general inexperience in the area, but as Yang went in for a second kiss, Weiss whimpered and began to relax, almost melting into Yang’s arms. As they finished their kiss and leaned back, Weiss kept her eyes closed for a long moment, before muttering, “Fuck…that was…” She looked over at Blake with a shining envy in her eyes. “You’re a lucky woman, Blake.” 

“Yeah, I am,” Blake said softly, smiling at Yang with such adoration that Yang almost crawled onto the couch and curled up in her arms then and there, but then Blake turned to Weiss and purred, “Do you want to see how lucky Yang is to have me?”

“Yes please,” Weiss whispered and Yang couldn't help but smile as Weiss leaned forwards, Blake meeting her in the middle. Blake threaded her hands through Weiss’ hair and dragged her down on top of her, nestling the smaller woman against her body as they kissed. Weiss moaned into the kiss as Blake stroked down her back, rubbing small, comforting circles into the small of her back. Yang watched them kiss with a growing heat in her core, her smile turning from amusement, the admiration, and finally to something that slipped out of her lips entirely.

“That’s so fucking hot,” she muttered and Blake snorted into kiss. Weiss shrieked in surprise and leapt backwards, sitting bolt upright as Yang roared with laughter and Blake laughed behind one hand. “Sorry, sorry,” Yang choked out, “Just you, and Blake, and...fuck me, that was  _ so _ hot.” 

They laughed for a while longer, Weiss joining on eventually when her embarrassment faded and her ears returned from pink to pale. “So,” Blake said slowly, “I like this arrangement. Everyone else?”

Weiss nodded quickly, her eyes both eager and concerned, and muttered, “Yes. Yes, I very much did like that.” They both turned to Yang, who shrugged as she leaned back on to her hands.

“I guess you could say it was...the bee’s Schnees?” she said with a cocky grin. Immediately Blake’s face fell into a disapproving frown and Weiss glared at her openly. Yang’s grin shifted into a sheepish smile, though she filed that one away in the back of her mind for another day. “So now what?” she asked and Blake snorted derisively.

“Now I’m going to make out with Weiss.” Weiss perked up in delight and curled up on top of Blake again. Yang pouted and folded her arms across her chest, making Blake snicker. “Wait your turn, love. Unless we want to head to the bed? We can all lay on that.” Yang’s face lit up immediately and she shot to her feet, snatching Weiss up bridal style before she had even finished saying that, yes, she thought that was a great idea. Weiss shrieked again, then flushed red as she nestled against Yang’s chest. 

“Better get used to this, princess,” Yang murmured into Weiss’ ear, making Weiss flush an even deeper shade of red. Blake laughed as she stood, and the three walked into Blake and Yang’s bedroom for the first of many Bee’s Schnees cuddle sessions. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first attempt writing Bee's Schnees. It would be longer, but I'm also writing Beetober so I'm happy I got anything done.


	20. Day to Day, Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a continuation of chapter two, Blake and Yang are still living their best lives.

Yang hummed as she worked, chopping up vegetables while keeping an eye on the meat on the stove. She had promised Weiss a proper Atlesian roast for her birthday, and she planned to deliver. 

So she cooked, dressed in her second favorite apron that read 'Kiss the Cook'. Her favorite apron, which read 'F*ck the Cook' was still in the wash after Blake had taken her up on the offer. Wearing that apron and nothing else while making Blake's favorite tuna casserole had helped tip the scales too. Dinner might have burned, but Yang was too frazzled to care at that point. Besides, Blake had managed to salvage most of the meal, so it was no harm, no foul. 

Yang looked over her shoulder as the door to the apartment opened, a smile spreading across her face as she saw Blake come in. She was dressed, as she always was during the workweek, in a black blazer over a button up shirt, with dress pants that made her look far too attractive for Yang’s own good. She’d draped herself over Blake more than once in the morning as she tried to get ready, coaxing her back to bed for another few minutes of snuggling. If any of Blake’s coworkers had anything to say about how wrinkly her shirts were some mornings, they had yet to pipe up. Blake looked up with a tired smile, ears flicking up as she laid eyes on Yang. “Hey baby.”

“Hey,” Yang said softly, glancing at the stove again. The meat still needed another few minutes, she had time. So, with that in mind, she stepped away from the stove and up to Blake, helping her take her jacket off. Blake let out a thankful groan as she shed the blazer and Yang smiled in vicarious exhaustion. “Long day?”

“I fucking hate Whitley,” Blake grumbled and Yang laughed, folding the blazer on her arm.

“Who doesn’t?” she asked and Blake sighed with a shake of her head.

“Investors do, and that’s the biggest problem. That man has more money backing him up this election than most kingdoms.” Yang winced as she nodded, remembering that half of Vale’s congress was up for reelection this year. Blake’s seat was safe, she had won her incumbent race in a landslide, but even a few seats changing could mean that Vale rolled back on their more progressive policies. Blake continued, “It’s like everyone with an offshore account thinks they can use him to muscle in and strip people’s rights away.” 

“But you won’t let them, right?” Yang asked, wrapping a comforting arm around Blake and pulling her in for a hug, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

“No, of course not,” Blake sighed, “But some of the other members of the Vale Labor Party and Faunus United might vote with him just to get him to shut up. He goes on for hours about the stupidest stuff and the floor leader doesn’t stop him.”

“And even a little slip might lead to bigger losses,” Yang murmured, echoing the phrase that Blake so often used when she railed against Whitley in the press. The two weren’t outright political enemies, due mostly to Weiss acting as a buffer between them, but they rarely saw eye to eye. “How does Weiss feel about it?”

“She’s been calling him every day, trying to get him to stop,” Blake said with a sigh, “We talked earlier today. She’s pissed at him for trying to roll back worker protections, but he’s not backing down.”

“He will,” Yang said with a cheerful smile, which Blake tried her best to return. “Now c’mon you, go take a shower and get changed. I’ll have dinner ready soon.”

“Is that what’s on the stove?” Blake asked and Yang shook her head.

“No, that’s for Weiss’ party. I’m making tuna melts for dinner.” Blake goaned happily and nuzzled into Yang’s chest, making her laugh as she tickled her cheeks with her ears. 

“I fuckign love you,” Blake mumbled and Yang smiled tenderly at her, kissing her softly on the top of the head. 

“I love you too,” she murmured, “Now go shower so we can eat.” Blake nodded and headed for the shower, planting a small kiss on Yang’s cheek as she went and taking her blazer back as she went. Yang smiled after her for a moment before heading back to the kitchen and continuing her dinner preparation. Soon she had the hunk of meat off the stove and was carmelzing the vegetables in the fat it left behind, the house starting to smell absolutely wonderful. 

By the time that Blake came out of their room ready to eat, dressed now in her pajamas and a fluffy blanket wrapped around her shoulders, Yang had the roast in the oven and was just finishing up the tuna melts. Blake went to sit down at the island, then paused and said, “I should probably be watching the debates.”

Yang smiled ruefully at her wife as she plated up the tuna melts. “Can’t you catch up with them tomorrow?” she asked, not to dissuade Blake from watching them but rather to get her to relax for the night. She had already spent the last thirteen hours working for the people of Vale, she needed to take some time off. Blake shook her head slowly, taking the tuna melt with a soft,

“Thanks hon.”

Yang nodded with a smile, walking around the island with her own tuna melt. “We can go sit on the couch and watch bad movies, have a few drinks, it’ll be fun.” Blake responded with a smile that was more parts exhaustion than it was happiness and Yang sighed knowingly. “All right, but if you start shouting at the TV I’m turning them off.” Blake laughed at that and led the way to their small living room, really just a large closet they had transformed with a loveseat and a wall mounted TV. As Blake settled onto the loveseat, she pursed her lips in thought and asked,

“You mind getting some drinks anyway?” Yang shrugged and placed her tuna melt in the dubious care of her wife, grabbing a bottle of whiskey and a pair of shot glasses from the kitchen. When she got back she was glad to see that Blake hadn’t devoured both tuna melts, as she was wont to do, and poured them both a glass of whiskey. Blake opened her blanket and allowed Yang to snuggle up next to her, resting her head on her shoulder as they ate. 

“Who’s on tonight?” Yang asked, and Blake groaned into her food. “Whitley, huh?” 

BLake nodded, swallowing hard, “Whitley’s going up against Arslan Altan.”

“Oh gods,” Yang snorted dersiviely, “Arslan’s gonna fucking slaughter him.” Blake laughed at that and snuggled closer to Yang until there was no more space between them, turning on the evening’s debate. 

“Oh that’s bullshit!” Blake snapped at the TV as Whitley went on about tax rates. Yang sighed with a soft smile as she watched her wife glare at the screen. “He’s straight up lying! Moderator, do something!” Blake scrabbled at the floor, grabbing a wadded up napkin and hurling it at the TV. It wafted in the air before veering off course and landing in the corner and Blake grumbled to herself as she watched it fall.

“They’ll cut him off soon, he still has a few minutes left,” Yang murmured, which only made Blake grumble more. Despite Whitley’s lies and the moderator refusing to rein him in, Yang’s prediction had been correct. Arslan Altan, the up and coming challenger for Whitley’s seat in the Vale congress, was taking him to task. Every question was answered perfectly, every rebuttal defeated before Whitley even had a chance to make his point. It helped that Whitley was, like his father had been, a long winded speaker and the mics for each part switched off once their allotted time was up. Whitley had been cut off more than once, while Arslan showed a nearly instinctual internal clock, concluding perfectly within the time limit. That, Yang mused, wasn’t much of a surprise. Back in the day the two had been sparring partners at the gym, and Arslan’s timing had been just as good then. Yang had gotten more bruises from those sparring matches than she liked to admit. How far they had come, Yang thought to herself as Whitley’s mic was cut off and Blake let out a groan of,

“Fucking thank you!” 

Yang laughed, snapping out of her reverie and giving Blake a soft, one armed hug. Her laughter faded as she realized that Blake was stiff as a board and she tutted softly. “C’mere you,” she said, gently shifting Blake so that she sat in between her legs. “You need to relax.” With that, she reached up to Blake’s shoulders and started to give her a massage, starting near the shoulders blades, where she knew Blake would be the most tense. 

“I’m not being thaaaaa-” Blake’s words drifted off into a whine as she slumped against Yang, her shoulders loosening under the fashionista’s careful attention. With a groan, Blake shifted her shoulders to get different parts under Yang’s experienced hands, and Yang laughed softly, the debate carrying on in the background. She wasn’t as good at giving massages a Blake was, but she had learned a lot since they had gotten together. Blake was still able to turn her into putty with a few well placed presses on her muscles and Yang was more than happy to doze off while Blake massaed every bit of tension out of her after a long day. Blake would never fall asleep while the debate was on, but Yang knew that she would at least enjoy it more now. 

Of course, Yang couldn’t be right about everything. Within ten minutes Blake was snoring softly, her head lolled to the side as she slept. Yang smiled softly at her as she slept, kissing her lightly on the cheek. “I love you,” she murmured as Blake smiled in her sleep, mumbling Yang’s name. 

Yang stayed up to watch the rest of the debate, using it more as a way to keep awake while the roast cooked than anything else. She couldn’t even vote for Arslan, since she lived in the district that Blake represented, but she would have if she could. After the debate was over, Yang flicked off the TV and started messing around on her scroll. Ruby had challenged her to a match of their favorite fighting game, so the next hour was dedicated to proving, again, why Yang was the undefeated champion in the Xiao Long/Rose household. Well, Yang thought with a soft smile, the Xiao Long-Belladonna/Rose household now. The union of their families had been one of great excitement for Tai, Ghira, and Ruby, and one of great relief for Weiss, Summer, and Kali, who had spent the better part of the last five years telling Yang and Blake to ‘just get married already’. It had all been in jest and Yang had known that her parents, and parents-in-law, would never actually pressure her into anything she didn’t want, but she would be lying if she said that she and Blake hadn’t put it off just to drive their mothers up a wall. 

Speaking of parents and parents-in-law, Yang glanced down at her scroll to find a message with a picture attached. It was off her and Blake’s parents, as well as a very disgruntled looking Raven, at a restaurant somewhere. Kali and Tai were engaged in what looked like a fierce debate of their own, thick as thieves as they always had been since meeting one another. Ghira and Summer, on the other hand were casually talking across the table, cheeks flushed a rosy red from the not inconsiderable amount of beers between them, and all of it was overseen by Raven, who was peeking up in the bottom left corner of the picture. The photo was accompanied by the message, ‘Why is your father the way that he is?’. Yang snorted with laughter and forwarded the picture to Ruby, knowing full well that her sister would keep it tucked away for a rainy day, probably when they were poking fun at Tai at the next family reunion. Though it looked like there already was one going on right now. Tai, Summer, Ghira, and Kali saw almost as often as Yang and Ruby did. 

Raven was a new addition, or rather a newly returned addition. It had taken a lot of time and a lot of lawyers to get Raven on parole, and even then she had wanted nothing to do with her family for a long time. It was Summer, accompanied by Yang, who had helped repair the tattered links between them. They had come a long way, with Raven now actively choosing to go out with everyone rather than being forced to come along as part of her parole sentence. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. Yang liked that.

Things had come a long way since she had, literally, run into Blake when they first met all those years ago. She was now a successful businesswoman and model, Blake was an internationally recognized political figure, Ruby and Weiss were building a Dust company from the ground up, and their families were slowly starting to heal. Yeah, Yang mused as she smiled softly down at Blake, who was mumbling about tuna in her sleep, they had come a long way. She couldn’t wait to see where they went next. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Parts of this are definitely not inspired by real world events. Not at all.   
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	21. The Bees and the Schnees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the middle of the night, Yang is woken up by a phone call from someone she never expected.

An incessant buzzing broke into Yang’s dreams, throwing her from a wonderful evening of surfing on space whales with Blake into the cold grip of reality. Or at least it was cold outside, as snow fell on Patch outside her window. Inside, snuggled up to Blake and held securely in her arms, Yang was so warm she might as well have been near a roaring fire. She might have snuggled up closer and fallen back asleep had her scroll not buzzed again on the nightstand next to her. She groaned and grabbed it, squinting as she read the name on the screen.

“Winter?” she mumbled, rolling away from Blake and answering the phone as quietly as she could. “Hello?”

“Miss Xiao Long, I need your help,” Winter snapped, every bit as calm and collected as she ever was, the sharp tone of her voice piercing into Yang’s mind and chasing away her drowsiness immediately.

“Y-you need my-” Yang started, then glanced over her shoulder at Blake, who was mumbling something as she curled up against her even tighter. “Can’t this wait? It’s three in the morning here.” 

“Three thirty-seven, actually,” Winter said and Yang groaned, rubbing at her eyes as she came to grips with the fact that this was actually happening and was not just some strange continuation of her dream. “Are you going to help me or not?”

“That depends on what you need help with, I guess,” Yang muttered, “If it’s hunting Grimm, I can’t get there until tomorrow evening anyway.” There was a long moment of silence until Winter sighed, a sliver of desperation cutting through her ever professional veneer. 

“It’s not a what, it’s a who,” Winter said softly and Yang furrowed her brow in confusion.

“What?”

“Do you remember Robyn Hill?” Winter asked and Yang nodded, even though she knew that Winter couldn't’ see it.

“Sure, we helped break her out of Atlas. Well, Blake did, I was busy evacuating people, but you know what I mean. Did she get arrested again? Cause we can get her out again, if you need us to.”

“No, nothing so dramatic,” Winter said with a sigh and Yang hummed softly in thought.

“What is it?”

“How-What would you-” Winter started, then stopped with a curse, a word so divorced from Yang's perception of WInter that she almost thought she was being tricked. But the cold, flat tone of her voice banished that thought as she said, “You’re the only person I know who has an even remotely successful romantic life. What kind of advice would you give to someone who wanted to ask someone else out?”

It took Yang’ smind a moment to realize what Winter was asking her and when she did she was caught between laughing out loud and gasping in both shock and amazement. “You and Robyn?” she asked with a choked breath and Winter muttered,

“That would be the operative pair, yes.” 

“You want me to help you ask out Robyn?  _ Robyn Hill _ ?” Yang asked and Winter grunted in agreement. She let out a long, low breath and collected her thoughts for a moment, wondering what might have possessed Winter to call her about all this. She and Blake had danced around their feelings for one another for years, they were hardly experts. Then again, she mused, compared to Weiss, who was still struggling with the concept of being romantically involved with anyone at all, the Happy Huntresses, who Winter regarded with something between disdain and reluctant acceptance, and the Ace Ops, who Winter refused to speak to, the options for advice were rather limited. She might have suggested asking her father for advice, but Tai was an even heavier sleeper than she was. It took a sizable explosion to wake him up in the middle of the night, and besides he had never spoken to Winter before. At least she and Yang had a professional relationship. So, Yang sighed softly with a small smile and asked, “What do you need?”

“Where do you even start?” Winter said, almost a groan of desperation and Yang heard the sound of her thumping down into a chair. “She’s just so-so-” Winter cleared her throat and regained her composure, saying, “She’s rather attractive, and I enjoy our time together. I would like to spend more time with her in a non-professional capacity.” 

Yang blinked slowly as she heard that, the same kinds of things that she had said to Ruby about Blake all those years ago back in Beacon. Ruby had, in her endless wisdom, offered to take Yang to go feed the chickens. Chickens were relaxing, after all. But she had learned a lot since then, not limited to the relaxing powers of fowl, and asked, “Why not tell her that?”

“Tell her what?”

“What you just told me,” Yang said with a small, exasperated sigh. She was starting to see why Weiss had gotten so annoyed with her and Blake back in the day. “Just tell her that you want to see her outside of work. Take her to a coffee shop or something.”

“She hates coffee,” Winter said dismissively, and this time Yang’s sigh was loud enough to make Blake grumble in her sleep. She glanced back at her sheepishly and leaned over to plant a small kiss on her forehead, which made Blake smile softly. Gods, Yang thought to herslef, she loved this woman so fucking much. Then the moment was broken when Winter said, “Yang? Are you there?”

“Yeah, I’m here,” Yang said as she rolled back over, “It doesn't matter where you go, that’s not the point. Just take her out somewhere, a dinner or a movie or something.”

After a long silence, Winter mumbled, “What if she doesn't like what movie I pick?”

“Winter-” Yang started, rubbing her temples in disbelief, “That’s not the  _ point _ ! You can let her pick if it makes that much a difference to you.”

“Then what is the point, Yang? It seems like there’s a very certain point you keep trying to make and I’m not getting it at all,” Winter snapped and Yang flinched. Winter’s voice was cutting and harsh, shearing away any defenses and leaving people bare even across a scroll and thousands of miles.

“The point is,” Yang said softly after taking a moment to collect herself, “You want to spend time with her, right?”

“Correct.” 

“So do that. Spend time together, outside of work. It doesn't matter what you’re doing as long as you’re doing it together, right?” Yang said and Winter sighed heavily before muttering,

“I suppose.”

“The first date that Blake and I went on we blew up a bar, Winter. It can’t get much worse than that,” Yang said, in what was an attempt at a moment of levity, but she immediately regretted telling that to someone sworn to uphold the law. She half expected Winter to announce that she was arresting her, but instead Winter sighed and said,

“I suppose not. I’ll...try that, Yang. Thank you.” 

“Anytime, Winter,” Yang said with a soft smile and Winter bid her goodbye. As Yang hung up her scroll and placed it back on her bedside table, she realized how glad she was that she and Blake were past that point in their relationship. Where they had once been bumbling and awkward, now they proclaimed their love from the rooftops, sometimes literally. Yang rolled back over and gently reached up, stroking Blake’s cheek. She felt her heart melt at the sight of Blake’s small smile as she slept, one hand slipping out of the covers to gently clasp Yang’s hand and hold it tightly to her chest. It was moment’s like these that brought up the strange, wonderful joy that Yang was slowly growing accustomed to, the kind that brought her to tears if she basked in it too long. Gods, she might very well spend every moment with Blake sobbing from sheer happiness. She loved Blake, and Blake loved her right back.

Content in that knowledge and the knowledge that she had helped Winter grow one step closer to finally asking Robyn out, something that Nora had predicted years ago, Yang snuggled back up to Blake until there was no more room between them. She leaned forwards and planted a soft kiss on her forehead, making Blake mumble her name in her sleep. With a soft smile, Yang curled up next to her, and fell asleep, safe and warm with the woman she loved. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the idea that Winter has no idea how to do romantic relationships.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	22. Moving Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sick of hearing Yang and Blake pine for one another without expressing their feelings, Weiss takes it upon herself to make the two move in together.

Yang woke up groggily, her eyes fluttering open as light poured in through the open curtains. “The fuck?” she mumbled, knowing for a fact that she had closed the curtains the night before. She slung her legs out of bed, gingerly moving so as not to step on her own tail as she was still wont to do even as an adult, feeling her hair tangle in her horns as she stood. She walked up to the curtains and closed them again, plunging the room into a shade of darkness, only for the door to burst open. She leapt back with a yelp, hands flying up in a fumbling defense as she looked around wildly, eyes landing on a familiarly organized white ponytail.

“Yang Xiao Long,” Weiss declared, her hands on her hips, “You are coming to my apartment and helping your girlfriend move in with you. I have had up to here,” Weiss gestured above her head, “with that lovesick dumbass pining for you every night.”

Yang stared at her friend blankly for a moment, blinking slowly as her mind grappled with what she’d been told. After a long moment she managed to mumble, “Girlfriend?”

“Blake,” Weiss said with a roll of her eyes and Yang shook her head firmly.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” she tried to protest but Weiss cut her off.

“You two sneak off every game night to go make out, don’t even try to hide it.”

Yang flushed a bright red and scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. “We-we don’t-I mean, yeah we do, but like...it’s friends with benefits thing, it’s not-”

“Ruby told me about all the times you’ve drunkenly confessed about your love for Blake,” Weiss said flatly and Yang felt a sting of betrayal in her heart.

“She-that motherfucker!” Yang was going to have to have a long talk with her sister about privacy...and maybe let Weiss know that her sister was crushing on her, hard.

“C’mon lovergirl,” Weiss said, grabbing Yang’s hand and dragging her forwards, making Yang yelp, “Take a shower and get ready. I’m making breakfast, then we’re moving Blake into this place.” Yang could only be herded into the shower, where a fresh set of clothes were neatly folded up waiting for her. Weiss closed the door behind her and Yang sighed, running a hand through her hair. Her arm bumped one of her horns and she twitched slightly as the sensitive new horn was touched. 

“Fucking spring horns and shit,” Yang mumbled, reaching into the medicine cabinet and grabbing the custom made covers for her horns when she showered, knowing that the hot water would be almost painful on the new growth. It was spring, meaning that her horns were growing again. The newest parts were always sensitive, at least until the winter when they would harden and settle in. If her father was anything to go by, Yang still had another few years of growing to do. At least it wasn’t as bad as Ruby, Yang mused as she slid the protections onto her horns. That girl shed enough fur from her tail and ears each year to build a new Ruby. 

Yang emerged from the shower, her hair up in a towel and dressed in some short and her favorite tank top, one with a cat posing on a tree with the phrase ‘Check Meowt!’ written underneath. The fact that it had been a birthday present from Blake definitely didn’t make it any more favored than the rest of her tank tops with puns on them, for which she had dedicated an entire drawer of her dresser. 

She followed the smell of cooking bacon to her small kitchen where Weiss was busy over the stove, her fox tail flitting back and forth as the oil hissed and popped in the pan. She glanced over at Yang as she entered and raised a contemptuous eyebrow. “Are you really going to go ask Blake to move in with you while wearing that?”

“I’m wearing what’s comfortable,” Yang said with a grunt as she saw down at the table, where a glass of orange juice was waiting for her, “You’re the one who’s so convinced that she’s moving in with me.”

“Oh, she’ll say yes. I’m just asking if you really want to look like a slob while moving her in,” Weiss said, picking pieces of bacon out of the frying pan and laying them on a plate to cool.

“Look like a-” Yang started to say then sighed in exasperation, “What else am I gonna wear to move someone in? My dress pants?”

“As a matter of fact, yes,” Weiss said, and Yang glanced over so see that Weiss was, indeed, in dress pants and a clean button down. “I moved her into the apartment wearing these, don’t you remember?”

Yang nodded slowly, not really remembering what Weiss had been wearing that day at all. Blake had come into their lives as someone looking for a roommate to split rent with, and Yang had been immediately infatuated with her. It was hard not to be, Yang mused as she watched Weiss cook, Blake was one of the beautiful people she knew, probably in the whole world. The intervening years since that day had seen her grow close with Blake due to a shared love of reading and making fun of bad movies. It was Blake who had gotten Weiss to start their weekly, or as weekly as they could manage, board game nights. It was also Blake who had dragged Yang off to find a game that she had left up in her room, leading to the two kissing furiously on her bed. Yang hadn’t been the only one infatuated that first day. 

Now, months later, they still snuck off every game night, sometimes throwing the game entirely to make extra time together. Those were wonderful times when Yang could pour her love for Blake into the world and make something beautiful of it, see that wonderful woman’s smile up close, feel her playing with her hair and her horns as they kissed, and trace every curve of her body with her lips. What Yang wouldn’t give to stay with her in that moment forever.

But she hadn’t thought it would ever evolve beyond that. Blake had started seeing someone named Sun, who Yang had taken a liking to immediately upon meeting him, and while it had only lasted a few weeks it still solidified in Yang’s mind that Blake saw their hookups as friends with benefits at best or stress relief at worst. It was all incredibly confusing for Yang and she always spent the next night drinking to try and clear her mind of the complicated, twisting thoughts. She was fairly certain that she loved Blake, but had never received any indication that Blake felt the same. So she hadn’t bothered to pursue a romantic angle. If physical attraction was enough for Blake, it would be enough for Yang too. Of course, now she was regretting getting drunk those nights, and especially calling her sister. Ruby had never been a gossip, not until she had met Weiss. It was nearly impossible to get Ruby to  _ stop  _ spilling her guts around Weiss. 

“Are you sure she likes me?” Yang asked softly as Weiss set a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her. The bacon was charred and the eggs looked a bit chewy, but Yang appreciated the gesture. Weiss was still learning to cook, but this was a far cry better than when she had started. Three fire trucks and the fire marshall couldn't save that building. 

“Positive,” Weiss said as she tucked into her own plate and Yang shrugged before beginning to eat. “Yang trust me, she hasn’t shut up about you in the last month. She loves that necklace you made her, by the way.” Yang remembered that necklace, really just a stone she thought was pretty crudely encased in wire and tied to a string. It wasn’t much and it certainly wasn’t something that she thought Blake would like, but she had given it to her anyway.

“Really?” Yang asked, looking up in confusion and Weiss nodded firmly.

“Really. She wears it all the time, even while she’s working out. Personally, I think it looks like a rock on a string, but she loves it,” Weiss scoffed but Yang felt a warm glow begin to spread through her body. Blake liked her gift. She  _ loved _ her gift. That had to mean that Weiss was telling the truth, right?

But even so Yang asked, “Are you sure that means she likes me? Like, yeah we go hang out in Blake’s room a lot,”

“And keep me awake doing it,” Weiss muttered and Yang flushed red with embarrassment.

“Sorry,” she murmured and Weiss waved it away. “And she likes the necklace and I love the shirts she gives me and I just…” Yang trailed off and stared at her half empty plate, unsure what to say other than what she needed to say. There were no other words for what she wanted to say, so she went with that she knew. “I love her, Weiss. I’m in love with her.” Yang looked up to meet Weiss eyes, calm blue staring into anxious lilac. “I just don’t know if she feels the same way.”

“So ask her,” Weiss said with a shrug, as though it were the simplest thing in the world.

“I can’t,” Yang muttered and Weiss sighed.

“Why not?”

Yang ran a hand through her hair, wincing as she brushed her horns again. “Because I don’t want to lose her. Yeah, we spend a lot of time making out and stuff but we’re also just really good friends. She’s one of my best friends, Weiss. I can’t lose that if she doesn’t feel the same way, you know?” Yang asked, her eyes twinkling with anxiety and worry. Weiss’ expression softened and she reached out a hand to grab Yang’s, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

“So what else is there, Yang? Are you just going to stay in this limbo with her?” Yang looked away, unsure as Weiss continued, “You just said you love her. Being like this, without an answer, it’s tearing you up, Yang. You like to know things, you need to know things. You’re the girl who broke into the dean's office back in college to find out if we were getting stiffed on our tuition.”

“We were,” Yang muttered and Weiss snickered, drawing a smile out of Yang as well.

“Exactly. You like being certain about things. You’re never gonna be able to be around Blake in a way that’s healthy for both of you if you don’t find out if she loves you or not.”

Yang sighed and nodded, squeezing Weiss’ hand gently. “I know. It’s just scary.”

“Aren’t you also the girl who does motorcycle stunts for a living?” Weiss said dryly and Yang rolled her eyes.

“It’s a different kind of scary,” she said and Weiss nodded again. 

“I know. I feel that same way sometimes.” Yang furrowed her brow in confusion and asked,

“Really? About who? It’s not Ruby, is it?” 

Weiss flushed red and looked away, her grip tightening in Yang’s hand. “It’s not important.” Definitely Ruby, Yang decided. “What is important,” Weiss said after clearing her throat, “Is getting you and Blake to figure out...whatever this is,” she gestured vaguely at Yang, who smirked softly. 

“I’m gonna find out who you’re into, Weiss,” Yang said with a cocky grin and Weiss rolled her eyes, jerking her hand out of Yang’s.

“Over my dead body,” Weiss said, then stood up and began to gather up dishes. “C’mon you, let’s get going.” Yang stood and helped clean up, then the two were on the way to Weiss’ apartment. Yang couldn’t help but feel a mix of anticipation, worry, and doubt plague her mind as they drove over, her mind turning over and over a thousand possible scenarios about what Blake might say, most of them negative. Such was the curse of overthinking everything. To distract herself, Yang pulled out her scroll and gave Weiss a side eye to make sure she wasn’t looking her way. Satisfied, she opened up Ruby’s contact and typed out,

“Hey Rubes. Going to see Blake, might help her move into my place. Also, pretty sure Weiss likes you. Not certain yet.” The flurry of texts back and forth with her sister about that particular piece of information was sure to get Yang’s mind off the seemingly inevitable outcome of rejection. 

“Wake up, you’re moving out!” 

Blake snapped awake with a screech, flinging herself out of bed and nearly slamming into the wall in her hurry to get up. She looked around, her head on a swivel as she tried to comprehend what she had just heard. “W-what?” Her eyes finally fell up on Weiss, her fox tail twitching in annoyance as she stood with her arms folded in the door to Blake’s room.

“Your girlfriend is here to help you move out,” Weiss said flatly, turning to leave as Blake started to wake up fully.

“Yang’s here?” Blake mumbled, her mind tumbling over the idea that Weiss was kicking her out until it came to a screeching halt as she realized what her roommate had said. There was a long beat of silence as she sat on her bed in growing realization, the feeling of shock and awe rising until she finally murmured, “Girlfriend?” 

As she tumbled out of bed and started to get ready for the day, throwing on a ratty rock band shirt and some torn up jeans, she considered the word, the concept of Yang as her girlfriend. Sure, they snuck off every game night to go make out or watch a few episodes of something, but Weiss and Ruby were fine on their own and didn’t need the two of them babysitting. And, yes, Yang was undeniably the most beautiful, most gentle, kindest person that Blake had ever met and she treasured every single moment with her, often exchanging ‘Good morning!’ and ‘Good night <3’ texts, but that didn’t mean that she was her girlfriend.

Wait.

Blake smacked herself in the face as she realized that, gods damn it, Weiss was right. She, at the very least,  _ wanted _ Yang to be her girlfriend, but she hadn’t asked yet and Yang had shown no signs of asking her anytime soon either. She seemed perfectly fine to leave things on a purely physical level, and Blake was used to forcing herself to be okay with that by this point. Yang didn’t seem to want a romantic relationship, just a way to blow off some steam and spend a little extra time with someone she was close with. Hell, Blake considered her to be her best friend these days and a part of her secretly wished that whenever Yang found someone to be her girlfriend that she would be allowed into their relationship as a third, should the option arise. 

But none of that, not one bit of it, said that Yang was going to ask her out and Blake refused to compromise her relationship with Yang in order to press the issue, no matter what Weiss said. If Yang was here and if Weiss was kicking her out to go live with that wonderful woman, then Blake would just go with the flow. She and Weiss had talked about her moving out soon anyway, especially with how much time Ruby was spending in their apartment. She loved Yang’s little sister, she really did, but Weiss was much better equipped to deal with Ruby’s energy all day than Blake was. That was without even considering the fact that Blake had needed to buy noise canceling headphones, just to be safe. 

She slid one headphone on, putting her heavy metal playlist on shuffle and headed out into the hall. Immediately she was greeted by the sound of Weiss and a voice that was most certainly Yang’s shouting back and forth. Blake’s tail flicked with amusement as she listened to them, currently going on about which food in the fridge was Blake’s and which was Weiss’. Weiss had committed to the idea of throwing her out, but Blake couldn’t bring herself to be too mad about it. Yang’s apartment was closer to her job anyway, and if she was with her more often then they could figure out whatever their relationship was.

“...the green package or the red one?” Yang yelled and Weiss, from her room down the hall, yelled back,

“The green one! I told you, Blake’s obsessed with that artisanal cheese shop down the road.” Blake grimaced as she heard that. It was true, of course, she loved that place, but obsessed seemed like a bit of a stretch. She stepped into the kitchen and dining room to find Yang leaning into the fridge and took a few moments to admire her as she did so. Gods, Yang even made athletic shorts and a tank top look like high fashion, and Blake had to admit that she adored the teasing glimpses of Yang’s abs the outfit allowed her. Yang grumbled to herself as she rooted around in the fridge, placing a few things out on the counter as she went.

“Not my fault you buy everything you look at, princess. Who the fuck buys three cans of whipped cream and no ice cream? Ruby would have a fit if she saw that.” Blake laughed softly at that and Yang jumped, banging her head on the fridge as she did so. She yelped in pain and Blake leapt across the kitchen towards her to help. Yang stood up, carefully ducking to avoid bumping her horns on the fridge as she did so, rubbing the back of her head with a grimace. “Fuck me, that hurt.”

“Sorry,” Blake said softly and Yang turned. Her glower turned into that beautiful, lopsided smile that she always had around Blake, the one that made the entire room light up and Blake’s heart melt. It took her a moment to speak, so caught up in Yang’s beauty, but she eventually managed to say, “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s fine,” Yang said with a shrug, “Dad always said I was thick skulled.” She and Blake shared a laugh at that, before Yang said, “So...I guess you’re moving in?”

“Apparently,” Blake said dryly, “Weiss just told you this morning?”

“Yeah. You?” Yang said, her tail wrapping around her legs like it always did when she was nervous, the same way it did when she and Blake watched a scary movie.

“Five minutes ago,” Blake said and Yang snorted with laughter, “We could just tell her no. My name’s still on the lease.”

“Yeah, we could,” Yang said softly, her smile becoming gentle and welcoming as she did so, speaking in that way where she was offering the out more to be polite than because she really wanted it. To be entirely frank, Blake wasn’t sure she wanted to stop Weiss’ plans either. She had toyed with the idea of living with Yang before, especially when the Atlesian cold slipped into the apartment in the winter, but now that it was really on the table she realized she had never wanted anything more. Well, maybe leaping forwards and kissing Yang so hard they could barely breathe, that was pretty high on the list too.

“You don’t mind?”

“Nah, not really. The apartment’s pretty lonely since Pyrrha moved out.” Now it was Blake’s turn to snort with laughter as she remembered Yang’s last roommate, who had left in a hurry when she met Blake’s old friend Ilia. The two had fallen hard and fast, and now she and Yang had a standing bet on how long it would take the two to get married. “You don’t think it’ll be a problem for Weiss, do you? She’s pretty attached to you,” Yang said with a soft smile and Blake rolled her eyes.

“Not if Ruby keeps coming over four times a week.”

“Four times a-” Yang started to say, mouth open and aghast, “I knew that-that-” She stopped herself and let out a long, low breath before asking, “Four times a week?”

“Yeah,” Blake said with an apologetic smile and a shrug. “Weiss is gonna be anything but lonely.” Before Yang could say anything else, Weiss stormed into the room, fox tail agitated and fluffed up as she sailed by them towards the coat closet.

“If you two are quite done flirting, we have a schedule to keep,” she said nad Yang furrowed her brow in confusion.

“A schedule?” she asked, “Who’s schedule?” 

“My schedule,” Weiss said flatly, “I have company coming over later and I-”

“Is it Ruby?” Yang asked and Weiss froze, one hand in the closet pulling out Blake’s coats and the other waving noncommittally in the air as she tried to come up with a response. Eventually her nuance and poise failed her and she said,

“That’s none of your business.”

“I fucking knew it!” Yang exclaimed, tail lashing out in excitement and bowling over a chair. She looked over her shoulder sheepishly as the chair went tumbling down the hall with a muttered, “Sorry.” Blake smirked and turned to go chase after the chair as she heard Yang continue, Weiss no doubt a burning red. “She talks about how much she likes you all the time! I was gonna try and get her back for telling you that I...uh…” Blake glanced over curiously to see Yang glance at her with a small, weak smile before clearing her throat and continuing, “I was gonna tell you that, but like...do you know already?”

“Yang, we’ve been dating for two months,” WEiss said, flabbergasted and Yang nearly screamed. “Did she not tell you?”

“No she-I-Two  _ months _ ?” Yang yelped and Weiss nodded slowly, confusion spreading across her expression like a cloud. Yang ran a hand through her hair, her eyes wide and staring blankly at the wall as she grappled with the information, muttering, “I’m gonna go make a call.” She marched out of the apartment, scroll already in her hand and dialing Ruby’s number. As she closed the door behind her, tail snapping to her side to avoid getting caught, Blake nad Weiss heard her shout, “Two months, Ruby? When were you going to-”

The words cut out as the door shut behind her, leaving WEiss and Blake alone in the kitchen. Blake set the chair back down at the table and leaned on it, staring at Weiss as she neatly folded Blake’s coats. “So,” she said and Weiss turned with a raised eyebrow.

“So?”

“You’re kicking me out?”

Weiss sighed and shook her head, “No, of course not. I just figured that you and Yang might...I’ll put your things away.” Blake smiled softly at her, the gentle assuredness of her expression freezing Weiss in place more than anything else.

“Hey, it’s fine. I was gonna move out soon anyway, right?” she said softly and Weiss nodded with a small, apologetic smile, “I don’t mind doing it now, as long as Yang’s okay with it.”

“She seems to be,” Weiss said and Blake nodded slowly.

“I don’t mind, Weiss. Really. Yang and I just need to have a talk first.”

“Could you please?” Weiss asked, exasperation shining through once more, “I love you and Yang, but I’m up to my ears in your pining gay asses.”

“You wish,” Blake snorted and Weiss flushed red again. Blake snickered and turned to head to her room, calling over her shoulder, “I’ll be packing. Can you send Yang my way when she comes back in?”

“Sure thing, Blake,” Weiss said and Blake headed back into her room to start putting her life into boxes. In truth, she really didn’t mind moving out. Weiss was a fine roommate and a good friend at that, but Blake had wanted a place closer to her job for a while now and Weiss knew it. Getting to move in with Yang was just an added bonus. As if on cue, Yang came back into the apartment, sighing fondly as she spoke on her scroll.

“I know, you’re a grown woman now. I just...I know, I know. I think you two are a cute couple. Yes, I mean it,” she said softly and Blake could picture the gentle, loving expression on her face as she said it. It was the same looking that Yang always had around Ruby, one of familial love wrapped up in over two decades of friendship. The sisters were thick as thieves, and Blake knew that Yang would never be able to stay mad at Ruby for long. “All right, talk to you later Rubes. You’re coming over to Weiss’, so I might still be around. Yeah, I’m moving Blake into my place.” Her voice hushed into a whisper and though Blake tried not to overhear, she couldn’t help but hear, “I don’t know if she’s into me or not. Like, yeah, I want her to be but if she's not...I don't wanna lose what we have, you know?" Another long pause, then, "Yeah, thanks Ruby. I'll do that. All right, talk to you later. See you!" The sound of a heavy sigh and Yang sliding her scroll into her pocket wafted down the hall, then a soft, “Hmm?”

“Blake’s in her room,” Weiss said quietly and Yang murmured,

“Thanks Weiss.” As though prodded, Blake became a flurry of motion, tossing all her clothes from her dresser to the bed to at least give off the facsimile of having been busy. No sooner had she done that than did a light knock come at the door, followed by a soft,

“Hey, it’s Yang. Can I come in?”

Blake cleared her throat, throwing a final pair of jeans onto her bed, and said, “Yup! C’mon in.” She turned to see a pair of dragon horns proceed a head of blonde hair, and a then a pair of lilac eyes that shone with such a gentleness and tenderness that Blake almost gasped. As Yang stepped in full, tail flitting nervously behind her, Blake managed a muttered, “Hey. How’d your call go?”

“Huh? Oh, good! It was good,” Yang stammered, “Ruby’s fine, just was caught off guard. Didn’t want to tell me about her and Weiss yet.”

“Why not?” 

“Cause she thought I’d get all protective about it,” Yang said with a small laugh, “I mean, she’s right but I trust Weiss.” Blake smirked at that and her nervousness was broken, well it was diminished at the very least, much in the same way that a flood can be diminished into a downpour. 

“But all the usual warnings about hurting your baby sister still apply?” Blake said dryly, hurriedly building a wall of sarcasm to stop the rising heat in her core and the warmth in her heart. She couldn’t declare her love for Yang, not  _ now _ . It was too much, too soon, no matter what she had said to Ruby over their call.

“Oh, yeah, obviously,” Yang said with a wink, a flash of flame appearing in her mouth. Blake snorted with laughter at that, turning to fold up her clothes.

“Careful with the fire breathing, Xiao Long,” she teased, “Weiss still has to live here, y’know.” 

“I will be,” Yang said, before blowing out a small jet of flame into her hand, “I’ll keep it contained until you need someone to build you a fire again.”

“That was one time,” Blake grumbled halfheartedly, “The wood was damp and I was cold and annoyed.” The memories of that camping trip rolled up from the back of her mind, of smores over a fire and hot cocoa while she was curled up into a blanket with Yang, her own personal space heater in the middle of winter.

“You sure it wasn’t just cause you wanted to snuggle?” Yang said with a lazy, teasing smile and Blake rolled her eyes.

“So what if I did? I don’t see you refusing me when I want cuddles.”

“You know me, Blake,” Yang said, bowing slightly in a mocking representation of chivalry, “I can’t deny a lady.” 

“Then kiss me right now.” The words left Blake’s mouth before she’d even realized she wanted to say them, and Yang froze, her eyes wide and confused as though she had short circuited.

“N-now?” Yang mumbled and Blake nodded slowly, deciding to commit to her words. 

“Right now,” she whispered and Yang stood up straight, running a hand through her hair anxiously.

“But Weiss is right down the hall,” she muttered, “and Ruby’s coming over soon.” Her eyes studied the floor at Blake’s feet, uncertainty shining through the usual cocky exterior that made up Yang’s personality and Blake smiled softly.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she murmured, reaching out a hand and giving Yang’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. Yang clasped Blake’s hand in her own almost on instinct, a small, nervous smile spreading across her face.

“It’s not that. I do wanna kiss you, I really do, it’s just...what I was talking about with Ruby.”

“Ruby?”

“Yeah,” Yang said softly, finally looking up to meet Blake’s eyes. THere was such anxiety there, surrounded by a fierce adoration, and beyond that, deep in the corners of her gaze, a potential so vast and wonderful that it made Blake’s heart stop. “She said that I-What I mean is-I-” Yang stopped and let out a long, low breath, making Blake give her another reassuring squeeze. When Yang finally spoke again, the words were halting, but determined. “I-I think that...well, I  _ know _ that I-I love you, Blake. I-I don’t wanna jeopardize our friendship or what we have on game nights,” her confidence faltered, falling by the wayside for the sake of nervousness and fear as she continued, “But I just want you to know that, you get me? If you don’t feel the same way, or if you just want to keep up with what we have then I’ll just-” 

She was cut off by Blake surging forwards and catching her lips on her own. Yang squeaked in surprise as Blake kissed her, a sound so adorable and amazed that Blake laughed into her lips even as Yang melted into the kiss. Her fingers started to card through Blake’s hair as Blake reached up to stroke her cheek gently with her thumb. As their lips separated, Yang’s eyes were shining with joy and wonder and Blake felt the same reflected in herself. “Yang,” she whispered, “you beautiful blonde dumbass. Of  _ course _ I love you. Gods, I think-I think that-” She wanted to say that she had loved Yang since she first laid eyes on her all those years ago, but it was too much, too soon. She didn’t have to say it at all, Yang’s eyes growing gentle as she murmured,

“I know, Blake. Me too.” Blake sighed happily and kissed her again, feeling Yang’s tail wrap around her protectively and wrapping her own around her as Yang teasingly scratched at the base of her ears. When their next series of kisses finally broke off Yang said, “So...are you moving in still or…”

“Of course I am,” Blake snorted, “But you’re helping me move my dresser, that thing weighs a ton.” 

“Then later maybe we can be un...dresser?” Yang furrowed her brow in disappointment as she said that and shook her head. “Nah, that’s no good. You can undresser me? No, that’s even worse.” She let out an upset huff which turned into a laugh as Blake snickered softly.

“We’ll workshop it tonight,” she said and Yang hummed happily before kissing her again. Blake could feel the love and relief radiating off of Yang like a flame, waves of heat and passion that only encouraged her to pour out her love for Yang even more. Hell, Blake thought to herself, if she got to spend at least fifteen minutes like this with Yang every day, she would’ve moved in months ago. 

And Yang loved her! Yang Xiao Long, the most beautiful, wonderful woman in the entire world loved  _ her _ . It was almost enough to make her jump for joy, but right now she settled for kissing Yang once more. It was slow and tender, a gentle declaration of their love that left them both breathless and panting.

“Fuck,” Yang murmured.

“Yeah.”

There was a long moment of silence as they gazed at one another, utterly lost in each other’s eyes as adoring lilac stared into enthralled amber. They might have stayed like that forever had they not heard Weiss drop something with a crash and the sound of glass shattering and Yang snorted with laughter. “So, the dresser?”

“The dresser,” Blake agreed, “But first we should make sure Weiss didn’t hurt herself.”

“What’s she gonna do without you?” Yang asked and Blake smirked.

“Ruby, probably.”

Yang groaned and put her head in her hands. “Don’t remind me,” she grumbled, making Blake laugh. Blake entwined her fingers with Yang’s, giving her a gentle squeeze.

“C’mon you,” she said softly, and Yang looked up at her with gentle eyes. “Let’s get back to moving.” Yang nodded with a beaming smile, leaning over to plant a kiss on her cheek. Blake nuzzled against her cheek, then the two set off to start moving Blake’s things into Yang’s apartment. If every day was even slightly as good as this one, Blake knew that things would work out wonderfully with Yang. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The return of dragon Faunus Yang! Also with a side order of fox Faunus Weiss and wolf Faunus Ruby.  
> So that Volume Eight premier, huh?  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	23. The Beginnings of Redemption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the middle of evacuating Mantle, Yang and the others run across two people they least expected.

“That’s four more blocks cleared out,” Yang muttered, more to herself than the rest of the group with her. They’d done a good job clearing the civilians from the path of the attacking Grimm, aiding the Huntress’ efforts and increasing their speed tenfold. She ran a hand through her hair, feeling the tingling of exhaustion at the edge of her consciousness and pushed it away with a heavy sigh. There was more work to be done, more than she could even comprehend, and she couldn’t give up now. Like Joanna had said, either you’re helping or you’re baggage. Yang had no intention of being baggage. 

“The last transport is away,” Ren said as he came into their small makeshift headquarters, really a bakery that they had taken over when the owner abandoned it. Yang smiled weakly at him as he slumped onto the counter. Jaune and Oscar perked up at his appearance and Jaune let out a sigh of relief.

“Good. We should be able to get the next few blocks in an hour or so,” he said, pushing himself upright. Or rather, he would have if he hadn't taken a look around the room and seen Oscar panting heavily in his seat, Ren glaring at the floor, and Yang absentmindedly fiddling with her prosthetic as she rested up. “Or we can take a minute to relax,” Jaune muttered, making Yang snort.

“We probably should,” she said, looking up with as much confidence as she could muster. It came across as a half measure, but Jaune smiled back at her as best he could. “We’ve been at this for eight hours now, I think we’ve done a good job so far.”

Ren nodded slowly, idly spinning one of his guns as he did so. “We have. There’s more to do, but at least we’ve gotten a good chunk of the people out already.” He caught his gun and shoved it back into his holster, glowering at the tiled floor as he did so. “I can’t believe the general would just abandon his people.”

“Believe it,” Yang muttered, “It’s not like Ruby’s being any better.” The moment the words left her mouth she regretted them, a pang of horrible sadness piercing her heart and leaving her bare and flustered. She grit her teeth and looked away, mumbling a quick apology to no one in particular. She knew her sister was doing what she thought was best, the same that Yang was. It didn’t much matter who was right, hell, both of them were right, but it was a difference in perspective. Ren had put it as such earlier in the day when Jaune had brought up Nora, in an attempt to talk out what was happening with their group. The cold, cynical reaction Ren had at the mention of his lifelong friend was enough to make Jaune drop the matter entirely. 

There was a long silence, the air settling around them uncomfortably. Grapes, this was a nightmare, Yang thought, her gaze falling back to her prosthetic. Not twenty four hours ago they had been fighting side by side, Team RWBY at full strength and taking the Ace Ops to task. Now they were scattered, Ruby attempting a suicide mission and Yang desperately trying to save who she could. Everything was going wrong, at every turn. It was all so fucked up, and it only seemed to be getting worse. When they got through all this, Yang though sourly, she was going to ask Jinn for the name of a good therapist. 

She opened her mouth to say something, anything that might make up for what she had said about Ruby, when Oscar gasped and shouted, “It’s that girl! The one who took the relic!” Yang sprung into action, anger replacing her guilt as quickly as thought, her gauntlets falling into place. Jaune and Ren leapt to their feet, weapons at the ready. The four stormed out the door, Jaune at the head with his shield powered up fully, Ren and Yang on his flanks, with Oscar behind them. 

In the street, frozen on the spot as a flurry of papers blew between the two groups, were the two women that Yang recognized as Emerald and Neopolitan. They looked much worse for wear, Emerald sporting a few scratches across her face and Neopolitan’s new jacket with a sleeve torn off, a few burn marks on her chest, but they were still standing, weapons in hand. Emerald gasped as she saw the four of them, but Neo only glared, settling to a fighting stance. 

“Ren, keep them pinned,” Jaune said, “Yang, swing around and get them from behind. I’ll come up the front with Oscar.” Yang and Ren nodded in agreement, and Ren raised his guns to fire. Neo immediately raised her parasol to block the shots, but before the violence could break out Emerald yelled,

“Wait!” 

Everyone froze. Yang furrowed her brow in confusion as Jaune and Ren shared a look. Even Neo seemed confused, glancing back at her companion in a ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’ kind of way. Emerald slid her weapons back into their holsters and held up her hands in a peacemaking gesture.

“Please. We don’t want to fight.”

“Then what do you want?” Jaune asked, “You work for Salem, don’t you? What could you possibly want but a fight?” 

“We just-we-” Emerald cut herself off with snarl and took a deep breath, “She wants to kill everyone.”

“We picked up on that, thanks,” Yang growled and Emerald shrank back.

“It’s not what we-Neo and I-want though. I thought that things were different, than Cin-” She cut herself off again and looked away, “We don’t want what she wants.”

Now it was Jaune’s turn to snarl, his normal calm countenance lost as a pair of tears slid down his cheeks and Yang gasped as she saw how ragged he looked, how heavy his breaths were. “That didn’t stop you at Beacon. That didn’t stop you from killing all those Huntsmen and Huntresses in Mistral. That didn’t stop you from killing Pyrrha!” His voice broke and Yang felt her heart drop at the sound. Jaune, the man who had managed to keep them together and who was as much sibling to her as Ruby, let out a choked sob and yelled, “Why the fuck should we believe a word you say?” 

Emerald took a sharp intake of breath, falling back a step, eyes wide and wild. “Because...because we…” There was a long silence then, as Emerald searched for the words. Neo glanced slowly between the four in front of her, eyes lingering on Yang for just a moment too long. Yang glared daggers at her, eyes flashing red, which only made Neo smirk. Ren inched forwards, Yang drew back her fist to fire a shot, Jaune and Oscar tightened their grips on their weapons, when the world seemed to freeze. Emerald cursed and scrabbled at her belt, undoing it and ripping her weapons free from her body. She let out a strangled cry, then turned and hurled them down the street. Yang’s eyes went wide, shock and amazement sinking through her fury and making her arms drop slightly from a fighting stance. “Please,” Emerald choked out as she turned back to them, “I don’t want to fight you anymore, I don’t want to work with Salem anymore! They’re- _ she’s _ not the woman I thought she was.” Yang felt her heart break just a hair at the anguish in Emerald’s voice, realizing then that she had stopped talking about Salmen entirely. 

Neo shot a glare at Emerald, then flipped her parasol up and away, settling into a non-threatening stance, one hand on her hip and the other lazily rolling her parasol across her shoulder. Yang frowned in confusion at the sight. It could be a trick, both women in front of her had semblances that specialized in misdirection, but...there was something off about that thought. Maybe it was a feeling in the air, maybe it was exhaustion, maybe it was the desperation in Emerald’s voice, but  _ something _ made Yang believe what she was saying.

“Jaune,” she murmured, “We should let them go.” Jaune snapped over to look at her, dropping his shield every so slightly. If an attack was coming it would be then, but there was nothing. 

“What? Why?” he demanded and Yang sighed.

“I don’t know, but I believe them. Well,” she shifted her gaze to Neo and glared at her again, “I believe Emerald, anyway.” Emerald let out a sigh of relief as Jaune looked between Yang and the two women, flabbergasted.

“Wh-didn’t she try to kill you?” he asked, gesturing at Neo, who waved with a sickly sweet smile. 

“Yeah, but I was alone then,” Yang muttered, “She won’t get so lucky if she tries again.” Neo stuck out her tongue and Yang’s glare deepend, but she refused to let her emotions get the better of her. That had been her mistake with Neo the first time, and she refused to make it again. 

Ren was the next to drop his weapons, though he kept them drawn. Oscar followed suit, leaning heavily on his cane. “Janue,” Ren murmured, “Just let them go. We’re in no state to fight them and get everyone evacuated.” 

There was another long, tense silence until Jaune sighed heavily and dropped his guard entirely. He glared at Emerald and Neo, then said, with a carefully neutral tone of voice, “Grab your weapons and go.” Emerald gasped in amazement and relief, and turned to grab her guns before Jaune called out, “And if things get too hectic, you can take shelter in the crater. We’ll make sure you’re safe.” Emerald glanced over her shoulder, relief palpable in her stare and raced down the street after her guns. Neo rolled her eyes, but turned and followed her. Yang felt a heavy breath leave her body, her own wave of relief hitting her fast and hard. 

“A thank you would’ve been nice,” she muttered, which made Oscar laugh softly. SHe smiled at him as best she could, then perked up as Jaune said,

“All right, we should get back to work.” Yang nodded and fell into line behind him as their group set off towards the parts of Mantle that were still occupied. She pushed the thought of Neo and Emerald from her mind with a physical effort. There were more important things to worry about right now, the evacuation most of all. If those two wanted to cause trouble, well, Yang would be just as willing to fight them tomorrow as she had been five minutes ago. She just hoped that she’d get a chance to rest before then. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is what people in the fandom business call 'manifesting'.   
> Hope you enjoyed!   
> Comments are always appreciated!  
> I also just banged this out in the last hour, so if there's any typos I apologize.


	24. A Different Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In an alternate universe where Raven took Yang with her when she left Tai, the truth of her daughter's parentage comes crashing down.

Yang threw open the curtain that served as a door to Raven’s tent, storming through the makeshift foyer and into her private chambers. Raven looked up from her tea, seated on the ground in front of her table, an array of maps and schedules laid out before her like they always were when she was planning a raid.

“You're not supposed to be back yet,” Raven said, glancing up contemptuously before going back to her maps. She took another sip of tea, only to be interrupted when Yang slammed the picture onto the table, glaring daggers at her mother.

“Who is he?” Yang demanded and Raven looked over at the picture and shrugged.

“I don’t know,” she said before looking away and Yang sat down across from her, sliding the picture forwards so it couldn't be ignored.

“That’s bullshit. This is the same picture you have, mom. This is the guy whose hand got cut off when it tore.” Yang’s breathing was ragged and short and her hands were clenched into fists. Her hackles only raised further when Raven pushed the picture aside and said,

“That was a nurse, Yang. I don’t know who this man is, I’ve never seen him before.”

“Stop lying to me!” Yang yelled and finally,  _ finally _ , Raven met her eyes. It was the same look of arrogant contempt that she gave everyone, even her own daughter, but there was a flicker of something deep within, of uncertainty. “I talked to him, mom! He’s my teammate’s dad, he came by a week ago. He knew me! He knew who you were! You told me that nobody outside of the tribe knew about me, about me being your daughter. Who the fuck is this guy?”

Raven’s eyes narrowed and Yang shrunk back a hair. She’d seen that look a hundred times before when Raven was punishing someone. “He’s nobody, Yang. Ignore it and focus on your mission.”

“Why don’t you just-” Yang cut herself off and stood, pacing back and forth to stop from shouting. She let out a long breath and forced herself to unclench her hands. “Mom, please. Just tell me more than that. I know you know him, and his wife, Summer.”

Raven’s head snapped up to watch Yang pace and she snapped, “He married Summer?” Immediately Raven’s eyes went wide and she shrunk back into the ground as Yang turned to face her slowly, mouth agape. “Yang…” Raven said slowly, but Yang wasn’t having it.

“What the  _ fuck _ , mom?” Yang shouted, all pretenses of keeping this conversation between them forgotten. If the rest of the tribe heard them, so be it. This was Yang’s entire life on the line, twenty years of lies coming to light. Yang would’ve shouted it from the top Beacon if she needed to. “Who is he? Who are they? Fucking tell me!”

“Yang,” Raven said again, picking up the picture. She glared at the picture for a moment, and Yang couldn't tell if her ire was directed at the man or her. “He’s nobody. An old flame. It doesn’t matter,” she said, crumpling the picture in her hand, “Forget about him and focus! Where’s the relic?”

“No! No, we’re not talking about the relic right now,” Yang said, taking a step forward, “We’re talking about that guy in the picture! Is he my dad? Is he?” Raven said nothing, glaring death at her daughter in silence. “Why did you run?” Yang snapped and Raven shot to her feet, snatching Omen up as she did so. Yang instinctively readied her gauntlets, the spiked fists fitting comfortably over her hands even as she prepared to fight her own mother. 

“He left  _ me _ !” Raven shouted and Yang shook her head.

“That’s a damn lie, mom. I’ve seen the pictures of you and him on Patch. He’s still there!” Yang let out a long breath, settling into a fighting stance as Raven’s hand drifted to Omen’s hilt. “You ran away! You stole me in the middle of the fucking night, and for what? Why did you run?”

“You don’t understand, Yang. You don’t see things the way I do,” Raven started to say, but Yang cut her off.

“You’re damn right I don’t! I wouldn’t abandon people I care about, mom. I wouldn’t have a fucking child with a partner who loved me and then run away!”

Raven popped Omen out of its scabbard just a hair with her thumb, the same way she always did before she attacked. For someone who had never seen it before, it was barely even a motion and hardly a threat, but Yang had been training with her mother for her entire life. She knew her mother’s tells, the little hints in her movements, probably even better than Raven did. “I had a tribe to look after!”

“You had a family! The tribe survived while you were at Beacon and when you were having me, they would’ve been fine!” Yang roared and Raven flinched-fucking flinched!

“Yang,” Raven growled, “We survive by doing what we have to do. Staying there would’ve made us both soft. We need to be strong, we need to be able to make hard choices. That’s how we survive!”

“No,” Yang said firmly, “That’s how you survive. You don’t care about anyone else but yourself. You don’t even care about me!”

For the first time, Raven’s glare broke, just a twitch in her lips and a small lift of her eyebrows, but Yang had seen enough in her life, had read enough of Blake’s romance novels, to know what heartbreak looked like. But then it was gone, buried beneath the eternal cruelty and hardened heart of Raven Branwen. “Who do you think you are?” she shouted, “You’re standing there, shaking like a scared little girl! So what that I didn’t tell you who your father was? Now you know! Does it make you happy? Does it make you feel good inside?” Raven’s grip tightened around Omen and she snarled, “You’re pathetic, Yang! Giving up on the tribe because you think that your teammates-you’re  _ friends _ -” she sneered at the word friends like it was poison, “You think they’ll look after you like the tribe has? Like I have?”

“You raised me to be a killer, mom!” Yang shouted, her eyes welling up with tears, “You made me kill a man when I was  _ seven _ ! I didn’t want to, but you told me it was for the good of the tribe! I was stupid enough to believe you.”

“It made you stronger!” 

“It made me broken!” Yang shouted, tears now streaming freely down her face, “I never had a childhood, mom! I never had friends before this, I never-I never-” her voice broke as the image of Blake wafted through her mind, the strange, conflicting feelings in her chest twisting her heart in ways that Yang had never thought possible. “Even you,” she choked out, “Even you had a childhood, mom. It was hard and it was brutal, but you were allowed to be a kid! Me?” her voice faded to a whisper and Raven cocked her head to the side to hear better, “I’m never going to have that, I’m never going to have a normal life. You made me into something worse than a monster. You made me just like you.” 

Raven screeched in fury and flew at Yang, Omen’s blade flashing so quickly that Yang barely had time to react. Regardless, she was flung backwards from the force of the hit, careening clean through the tent and slamming onto the ground outside with a heavy thud. There was a song of metal through the air and Yang hurled herself aside to avoid another strike. The tribe had stopped working, everyone watching what they must have assumed was another training exercise, but the twisted rage on Raven’s face banished that thought immediately 

Raven swung again, already on Yang even as Yang rose to her feet, but this swing was wild and unbalanced and Yang saw her opening. She reached up one hand, deflecting the blow off her gauntlet and slammed her other fist into Raven’s gut. Her mother gasped as she had the wind knocked out of her and flew backwards. She recovered almost instantly, rolling back to her feet as Yang charged her. Raven, despite the ridiculous length of her sword, was just as good on her defense as her offense and Yang’s punches were thrown aside harmlessly, one, two, three, four, five, but then six hit home, right to Raven’s cheek. The bandit leader yowled and flung herself backwards, swinging wildly with her sword. The blade missed by nearly a foot, but Yang still found herself hurled backwards as though struck.

Yang tumbled to the ground, the blow blasting through her Aura like getting run over by a truck. She pushed herself up with one hand and looked over at her mother, her face paling as she met Raven’s eyes. Pink flames burned around the corners of her eyes, and even the very air itself seemed to be sucked towards the infuriated bandit queen. Anyone else would have run, it would have been smarter to run and hide. But Yang knew better. Raven was pissed. Running would have just ended with Yang dying tired. 

Besides, Yang was a Branwen. A Branwen never ran. Unless you were Raven, Yang thought bitterly, then you ran as much as you needed to in order to survive. But Yang wasn’t her mother, and her principles wouldn’t let her just run off like a coward. So instead, Yang snarled and pointed her gauntlets behind herself, blasting forwards with all the strength she had left, every ounce of her aura flowing into her semblance and making her eyes bleed red, her hair light aflame like a bonfire. She screamed as she flew at her mother, right fist raised in a blow that had stopped tanks dead in their tracks and left people little more than paste. Maiden or not, this was a killing blow. 

Or at least it should have been. One moment, Raven was in front of her, the next she was behind, her sword dripping with blood. Yang swung heavily at the empty spot, a spray of blood the only thing that came of it. She looked over at her arm in confusion.

Her arm wasn’t there.

Yang’s breathing shortened and became shallow, and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Just before she faded into unconsciousness entirely, she heard Raven snap,

“Yang doesn’t exist to the tribe anymore. Get her out of my sight.”

With that, Yang’s eyes closed and she succumbed to the pain, fading into darkness. 

Yang grunted as she woke up. It was dark and raining. The thunder rolled by overhead and she stared out the window, unfocused as the rain drops slid down the pane. For a while, all she could hear was the sound of the rain, the roar of thunder, all she could see was the rain pattering the window and the lightning flashes. It took a long time for her to even turn her head, to look at the room she was in.

It was a cheap motel room, probably still in Mistral if she had to guess. The architecture was distinctly Mistralian, but people in Vale had been copying it for decades now, so who knew? She was in a bed, in the center of the room, a tv across from her and a small bathroom out the corner of her eye. The door was closed, and the light was on. 

Immediately Yang tried to push herself up, only to find that the hand wasn’t there. She looked over, confused, and saw her right arm end just above the elbow, a clean bandage wrapped around it. From the empty syringe and bloody bandages on the nightstand next to her, she was drugged up and being taken care of by...someone. Whoever was in the bathroom.

As though sensing her thoughts, the door opened and someone stepped out. Yang would recognize those clothes anywhere, the black hoodie under leather armor and the skin tight pants with heeled boots, the cleaver and dagger at her hips. Even then, the cat ears were a big giveaway too.

“You’re awake?” Blake asked softly and Yang nodded slowly, eyes still struggling to focus. “Good. I thought I got to you too late.”

“You...got to me?” Yang asked, stumbling over her words as her numbed tongue tried to form a sentence. 

“Yeah. I found you in the woods after...whatever happened,” Blake said, pulling out a chair and plopping down, setting her chin in her hands. “What did happen?”

“You followed me?” Yang asked, furrowing her brow. Blake sighed and looked away and Yang’s lips set into a snarl, “Why did you follow me, Blake?”

“Cause you snuck out in the middle of the night, Yang!” Blake snapped, locking eyes with Yang, her gaze determined and unwavering. They held each other’s gaze for a while, then Blake sighed and said, “I was worried.”

“I don’t need you to be worried about me,” Yang growled and Blake rolled her eyes.

“If I didn’t follow you, you’d’ve bled out in a river bed. I saved your life, Yang.”

“So, what? You want me to be grateful? You want me to swear a fucking life debt or some fantasy bullshit?” Yang said, pushing herself up slowly with her left arm until she leaned against the backboard. As she did so, Blake’s determined gaze fell and her eyes filled with a hurt so deep that it cut Yang to her core, like a spike of ice to her gut.

“I just wanted to make sure you were safe,” Blake said softly, “I know that everything with Tai, whatever happened there, that messed you up good. Ruby was worried sick about you, you know how she is. Even Weiss made me promise to keep you safe.”

“Even Weiss?” Yang asked softly, her own anger abating and flowing away, replaced by disappointment in herself for snapping at Blake, betrayal from her mother, sadness that she felt so weak, laying in bed being taken care of like a child, and most importantly...she just felt exhausted. “How long was I out?”

“Four days, Yang. I didn’t tell anyone you were here, got the motel under a false name, stole the medicine...but yeah,” Blake laughed softly, “even Weiss was worried. They’re covering for us right now, telling Goodwitch that we’re off on a camping trip or something.” She glanced at Yang’s arm, “Though I don’t know how you’re gonna explain that.”

“Bear attack?”

“We’re Huntresses, Yang.”

“Huntresses in training,” Yang muttered and Blake sighed again. 

There was a long moment of silence, then Blake said, “You don’t have to tell me what happened. It’s not my business, anyways. But you should get some more sleep. I’m honestly surprised you’re awake at all, there’s a lot of meds in you.”

“I’m tough,” Yang muttered, her eyelids fluttering as sleep began to take her again, “How much longer is our camping trip?”

“Another week. It’ll take at least two days to get back to Beacon,” Blake said, her voice echoing as Yang began to drift off. “You should think about what you’re gonna tell them.”

“The truth,” Yang murmured, slumping back to the bed, “I’ll tell them the truth.” With that, her eyes closed and she faded back into a dreamless slumber.

“Tai’s my dad.” Four days later, Blake and Yang were on a ship back to Vale, and Yang had decided that Blake deserved answers.

“What?” Blake exclaimed, turning to face Yang with a sharp, jerky motion. The ship they were taking back to Vale,  _ The Pride _ , shifted and bobbed in the waves, nearly throwing her to the deck if Yang didn’t reach out and steady her with a gentle arm around her waist. “Tai Xiao Long is your dad? Ruby’s father?”

“Yeah,” Yang said softly, retracting her hand and letting it fall limp by her side. “I didn’t wanna believe it at first, but it’s true. My mom, Raven, has the same picture he gave me, just with him torn out of it. She told me it got torn in an escape when I was a kid, but it didn’t matter. She said that person was just a nurse, not my fucking father. She fucking lied to me.”

“Does anyone else know?” Blake asked and Yang shook her head. Blake hummed softly in thought before saying, “You mind if I put my arm around you? I might fall over if I don’t.” Yang shrugged and leaned towards her, allowing Blake to put one arm around her shoulders, her hand resting gently on Yang’s right arm, which was tucked up to her chest. Blake steadied herself just in time, it seemed, as the ship hit a particularly nasty wave and Blake yelped, clinging tightly to Yang as her knees gave out. Yang smiled softly over at her and murmured,

“Didn’t you live on an island or something?”

“On the coast of Menagerie,” Blake grumbled, “Doesn’t mean I got out in the boats. Mom and I always went diving for our fish.”

“Diving? Like, you grabbed fish with your bare hands?” Yang asked and Blake nodded firmly.

“Sure. You stick your arm down the right hole, a fish grabs on and you haul it up to the surface. Mom and I used to go out every couple of days for that. We got some real big ones too but I was always better. Thicker arms,” Blake flexed her left arm and smiled as the taut bicep bulged. “I can drag up bigger fish.”

“Damn,” Yang said, an impressed smile spreading across her face, “and I thought I lived rough and tumble.”

“You were a bandit- _ are _ a bandit,” Blake corrected herself but Yang sighed and shook her head.

“Not anymore. Mom kicked me out after…” she gestured weakly with her right arm and Blake’s face paled.

“Your mom did that?”

“Yep. She doesn’t like her past being brought up or being challenged. When I did both, she attacked me,” Yang said bitterly and Blake gasped, pulling her into a one armed hug. Yang sniffled, holding back more tears. She’d cried enough during the fight with Raven, Blake didn’t need to see her like that. Blake wrapped her other arm around Yang, gently, as though afraid that Yang would push her away. Yang just sighed and leaned into the hug, burying her head into Blake’s shoulder. This was enough. This was enough affection for right now. “Don’t say you’re sorry,” Yang said softly, “It was my decision, my stupid decision.”

“I know,” Blake murmured, “It was a stupid decision. You should’ve told us where you were going.”

“And done what, Blake? Tell Ruby, ‘Hey, guess what! That asshole bandit princess you’re rooming with is actually your half sister! Come in for a hug Rubes!’” Yang said, pitching her voice higher in a mocking imitation of herself. Blake snorted with laughter and Yang felt her shake her head. 

“You’re not an asshole. Well, not all the time,” she said and Yang smiled, “Just when you’re tired or in pain.”

“So all the time?” Yang asked and Blake laughed again before leaning back and staring into her eyes gently.

“Some days, sure. But not all the time.” She glanced at Yang’s arm, which had fresh bandages and a sleeve tied off around the stump that had been her elbow. “How about today? How’s the pain?”

Yang sighed and looked away, staring at the waves as the ship cleaved a path back to Vale. “Fine. The meds help a lot, I just can’t jostle it at all.”

“Okay,” Blake said, “How much Aura are you putting into it?”

“I’m not trying to grow back my arm, Blake.”

“No, but you’re putting in Aura to numb the pain. That’s how you take so many hits, Yang. We’ve talked about this, remember?” Blake said gently and Yang nodded slowly, still watching the waves. 

“Yeah. I remember those strategy meetings,” she said softly. They had been strategy meetings at first, but after a while they had become more. Blake had started bringing snacks and a book for when Yang went off about some poor sod who had performed poorly in a school wide exercise. Eventually, Yang had started to show Blake her favorite shows, the ones she’d discovered after coming to Beacon. Yang had no idea that there was so...much in the world. For her whole life, the world had been kill or be killed, steal, cheat, survive. There was no time for watching web shows or reading. If Vernal hadn’t been there to teach her, Yang doubted that she’d be literate. Raven sure as hell hadn’t bothered to teach her things like reading. “I liked those meetings,” Yang murmured and Blake stepped up to the railing with her.

“Me too,” she whispered, so softly that it was almost lost in the sound of the engines and the waves crashing against the ship. “Especially that one time we blew up a bar.”

Yang laughed harshly, remembering that particular meeting well. It had also, coincidentally, been the same night that she’d confessed to Blake about being a bandit. “That bartender had an unfortunately long memory and a good eye for faces.”

“You look that much like your mother?” Blake asked and Yang shrugged.

“I’m not a carbon copy, but I’m pretty close. Except the jawline. I guess I get that from Tai, huh?” Her voice was soft and contemplative and Blake snuggled a bit closer. Yang’s breath hitched in her throat and she wrapped her arm around Blake’s waist, feeling the comforting curve of her body pressed against her. She couldn't even begin to comprehend how much Blake was able to calm her down. It was remarkable, almost alien, that someone could be so gentle with her. Vernal had tried, but she was as much bandit as Raven. Her version of gentle had been lighter hits in training, and the bruises stacked up regardless. 

“You probably get a lot from him,” Blake said softly, “But your heart is your own.”

“Which novel did ya get that from?” Yang asked with a laugh and Blake shook her head.

“None of them. I made it up,” she said and Yang let out a soft breath.

“Oh. What’s it mean?” 

“It means that you’re you, Yang. You’re not Raven or Tai, you’re Yang. And all that matters right now is what Yang is going to do,” Blake whispered, almost right into Yang’s ear and suddenly, Yang could sympathize with all those sailors from the old days. If she’d heard that same soft whisper coming from out at sea, she would’ve thrown herself overboard just for the chance to hear it again. 

“What if I don’t know what to do?” Yang asked. “I don’t have anything, Blake. My tribe abandoned me, my mother cut off my fucking arm...I don’t want to run to Tai or Ruby. They’re not...I can’t just pick them up and say that they’re family. I like Ruby, I really do, but I don't know her like that. I don’t even know Tai, at all. All I’ve got to my name now is my clothes at Beacon and my gauntlets.” Yang glanced down at her arm and snorted derisively, “Might as well throw one overboard now.”

“You’ve got me,” Blake murmured, and Yang looked over to find Blake blushing heavily. “I-I mean, I’m here for you if you need me.”

“Why?” Yang asked, the word slipping out before she knew what was happening. It was suspicion and mistrust. No matter how big the betrayal, Raven’s lessons were well learned, a lifetime of study in how to doubt everyone around you. If only Yang had applied that to Raven as well. 

“I’m your friend, Yang. That’s what friends do,” Blake said firmly, her blush growing as she said it. Yang felt her gut twist into a knot, her heart sending a bolt of warmth up to her cheeks as she began to blush as well.

“O-oh,” she managed, “I’m glad.” Gods, this was when people kissed, wasn’t it? That was like in the novels? Yang didn’t know, she had never been in love, never had the chance to be in love back in the tribe. That was something that Raven kept from her, that Raven could do but she had no option for. Vernal had tried to get her to come out, to travel to Mistral and hire somebody or go bar cruising, but Yang refused. The thought of being caught breaking one of her mother’s rules had terrified Yang to the core. Now, Yang realized, Raven’s rules had no more power over her. “B-Blake,” Yang said softly and Blake’s ears twitched, her head cocking to the side, “ Y-you wanna, maybe, I dunno, go out for a st-strategy meeting when we’re back at Beacon?” 

Blake’s blush got deeper, red as a tomato, but it didn’t keep her from smirking as she said, “A strategy meeting huh? Where?”

“A-at...at...fuck!” Yang snapped, whipping around to stare at the ocean instead of Blake. The moment her eyes were elsewhere, the knot that was Yang's tongue untied itself. “Why is it so hard to  _ talk _ to you?”

“You seemed to be doing fine a moment ago,” Blake said, teasing lightly and Yang sighed, hanging her head.

“I know, but that wasn’t...I...I’m not good at expressing myself, okay?” Yang said and she felt Blake nod slowly, the two still pressed tightly together, a bastion of warmth against the chill ocean breeze. 

“Take your time,” Blake said quietly and Yang took a deep breath before trying again, enunciating each word to make sure she didn’t stutter.

“I was hoping,” she said, “that we could go to Junior’s and...and talk strategy.”

“Junior’s is a club, right?” Blake asked, furrowing her brow when Yang nodded. “We’re gonna talk strategy in a club?”

“It’s not-I don't know how else to say it!” Yang exclaimed and groaned heavily. “I just wanna spend time with you, like Ilsa and Triss from that novel you lent me.”

“Okay,” Blake said with a shrug. Yang balked and looked up, meeting Blake’s eyes.

“Okay? Just like that?” she asked and Blake shrugged again.

“I’ll go out on a date with you, sure,” she said and Yang’s eyes went wide. “That’s what you meant, right?”

“Is that what it’s called?” Yang asked softly and Blake smiled gently at her, wrapping her up in another hug.

“Yeah, Yang, it’s a date. But we’re getting your arm looked at by somebody professional first.” Yang groaned and Blake’s smile faltered. 

“How am I gonna pay for it? I don’t have any money, Blake.”

“I’ll pay,” Blake said and Yang opened her mouth to protest when Blake held up a finger to her lips. “Please. Let me take care of you, okay?”

Yang struggled to form words, her eyes wide and uncertain, a lifetime of independence and Raven’s form of strength battling against the fact that she needed help, she needed somebody to rely on right now. Besides, Blake had been nothing but good to her, ever since they’d met, and Yang...well, Yang had been a bit of a prick. If this was a step on the road to apologizing to her, then Yang would take it any day. “Okay,” she muttered and Blake let out a sigh of relief. Yang thought for another moment, then said, “I’m sorry I was such a jackass when we met.”

“It’s fine,” Blake said, “I’m used to jackasses. You met Sun, you know what he’s like.”

“Yeah, but I was-” Yang started to protest, only to be cut off by that same finger on her lips, the same calloused skin pressed against her gently and taking her breath away.

“It’s already forgiven, Yang. I wasn’t the easiest to get along with either,” Blake said, and Yang sighed, letting it go. There would be time to make up for that later. Maybe she could...what did people do to apologize? The first thing that popped into Yang’s mind was stealing something for Blake, but she knew that Blake would find out. She’d never forgive Yang for that kind of misstep, a wrong to fix a wrong never went anywhere. Blake liked tuna, Yang thought to herself, maybe she’d like some homemade tuna casserole or something. 

Of course, that meant learning how to cook. Still, it was something new, something that Yang was going to learn on her own, with no input from Raven. If for no other reason than the need to apologize to Blake and to spite her mother, Yang was going to become the best damn cook in Remnant. She snuggled up against Blake, letting her partner tuck her arms around her shoulders and waist. Soon, they’d be back at Beacon. Soon, Yang would have to explain everything to their team, to Goodwitch, and to Ozpin. That firestorm was something that Yang wanted to avoid, but there was nothing for it. So, as the ship chugged along, Yang started to think of how best to break the news to Ruby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes fanfic enters a realm where its just like: 'Should I just write this with original characters instead?' This is one of those times.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	25. Gladiator

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In an alternate universe of swords and sandals, Blake and Weiss go the Grand Arena in Atlas, where they meet a champion.

Blake had only ever heard the stories of the Grand Arena in Atlas, a massive coliseum of gladiatorial fights that was the final goal for anyone fighting their way through the brutal profession. Once you made it to the Grand Arena, you knew you were set. Whether you were trying to become a professional gladiator or earn your freedom, the Grand Arena was the final frontier. 

It was a huge marble stadium, capable of fitting nearly a hundred thousand spectators and had large cloths on a pulley system to provide shade for the spectators in the rare days that Atlas got sun. If the rumors were right the stadium could even be flooded to provide a setting for mock naval battles. The seats were split into eight sections, each one interspersed with a large balcony for the richer folk, complete with a serving staff and complimentary drinks. It was, despite its brutal purpose, an architectural wonder and one that Blake couldn’t help but admire. For all the terrible things that Atlas did, they knew how to build on a scale that few could match. Of course, the Arena was dwarfed by multiple buildings back in Kuo Kuana, but nobody in Atlas would ever admit to that. 

Weiss seemed to be enjoying herself, dolled up in the latest fashions and her hair tied up in a long braid. She would’ve blended in with the rest of the high class folk in their balcony seats, were it not for her rapier at her side. Blake was forced to stand, being only a lowly guard, and received more than one snide side eye or sneer from the rest of the upper crust in Atlas. She met their gazes with glares and was satisfied when none of them could meet her eye for long. 

Her employer was busy reading a program which listed a handful of fights, all leading up to the main event. Blake read over Weiss shoulder, her hand resting gently on the hilt of her sword and the other with her thumb tucked into her belt. Her eyes narrowed as she read the title of the main event: something called a ‘Freedom Fight’ between two gladiators known as The Young Lion and The Golden Dragon. She considered asking Weiss about it, only to find that she was being engaged in conversation by a blue haired young man who looked like a walking definition of fake royalty. So instead she turned to one of the balcony guards, really just one an Atlas soldier who was probably being punished for something. 

“What's a Freedom Fight?” she asked, leaning on the wall next to where the guard stood at attention.

“You’re new in town,” the guard said, a statement rather than a question, “Once a year the two best gladiators go head to head. The winner gets sold. It clears the top spot and lets new talent work their way up.” The sheer desensitized flatness of the man’s voice shocked Blake more than anything else and she frowned deeply.

“So it's not so much freedom as it is a change of masters.”

“Call it what you want,” the guard said with a noncommittal shrug, “It’s the best fight all year, that’s for damn sure.” Blake grunted and looked away, watching as the crowd began to settle. The rich folk began to sit down and one of them pointed towards the center of the arena. Blake raised an eyebrow in surprise as the center of the arena sunk into the ground, then a few minutes later rose back up, a tall lanky man in the center. He waited for a moment, then pointed a large tube in the air. With a roar, a bright white,  _ something _ exploded out of the tube, making Blake hiss and flatten her ears to her head. The crowd, meanwhile, went wild, cheering and stomping their feet as the floor sunk away again. “Round one,” the guard muttered and Blake rolled her eyes.

On the far side of the arena, a large metal door sank into the floor and everyone cheered half heartedly as a woman was shoved out. She was holding what looked like a broken crossbow, her hair covering up one eye. She looked around widely, eyes wide and terrified, then her gaze settled on the far door as it opened. Another woman was thrown through it, this one long green hair and holding a long flat board. 

“Amateur fights,” the blue haired rich man said contemptuously, “Always a bore.”

“Now Henry,” Weiss chided good naturedly, her voice light and cheerful, “We need to build up to the big finale. It’d be a poor use of our time otherwise, wouldn't it?”

“It’s a poor use of my time to watch these fools miss their punches for ten minutes,” the man named Henry grumbled and Blake saw Weiss’ smile flicker for just a moment. It was a small motion, almost imperceptible and would almost certainly have been dismissed as a natural part of her expression by anyone else, but Blake had been traveling with her for long enough to see her expression for what it was. To Blake, she might as well have threatened to bite Henry’s head off. Instead, she forced her smile to return and said, 

“Well, it’ll be worth it in the final fight.” With that there was a loud bell and the two women in the arena looked around nervously, as though unsure of what to do. Clearly it was a common problem, as one of the guards threw a small loaf of bread into the arena. Immediately both women threw themselves at it, screeching and howling as they fought to get the bread. Blake winced and looked away, even as she saw Weiss and Henry lean forwards in interest. The crowd was, thankfully, cheering loud enough that the screams and bellows of the two women were lost in the mix. Blake didn’t look back up until the bell was run again. 

When she did, she saw that the woman with hair covering her eye was a sobbing, crumpled mess on the ground while the green haired one tore at the bread with wild abandon. Blake knew that she would just throw it all up later, her body unable to handle the sheer amount of food all at once after weeks of too little to eat. It was part of the cruelty of the gladiator pits, especially for the new ones. It made her feel sick, almost like throwing up herself. A quartet of guards swarmed the women, all but carrying them out of the arena and back into the large metal doors. 

“One down, four to go,” Henry muttered and Weiss nodded amicably. Blake considered finding a convenient bucket, but Henry would do in a pinch. 

The other four fights passed much like the first, albeit with more experienced fighters. These ones had real weapons, swords, shields, spears, a whole amory passed by as the fights ranged from two to thirty people. Blake found herself watching the ground far more than the fights themselves, though she got a general gist of their goings on by the cheers and boos of the rich folk in the balcony. Even Weiss was joining in, her reactions much more subdued than the rest though whether was due to a better understanding of the horrors they were watching or if she was just being herself, Blake couldn’t tell.

A series of loud bangs went off and Blake hissed again, flattening her ears and glancing up as a series of golden fireworks went off. Henry whooped and pumped his fist, crying out, “Here we go! A real fight!”

The rest of the stadium was going ballistic, cheering and stomping so much and so hard that it shook the very ground they stood upon. The door on the far left opened and the crowd roared in approval as a woman stepped out. She was dressed in loose clothes and had a long, thin rope dart looped at her waist, a lion mask atop her head, hiding her face. She raised her arms as she stepped out, revving up the crowd with practiced motions, and the crowd responded, cheering and yelling out her name, the word “Lion” over and over until Blake didn’t think she’d ever hear anything ever again.

Then the other door opened and no one walked out. There were a few shouts from inside and Blake raised an eyebrow in surprise as a guard was thrown to the ground, unconscious. There was more shouting, then someone was shoved out. She was huge, rippling with muscle and armed with a pair of iron gauntlets, a golden dragon mask on her head. Her head snapped back and forth like a bird until it rested on the Lion, and Blake saw her entire body sag in defeat. Maybe everyone else thought it was a reflex upon seeing someone that they knew they couldn’t beat, but Blake saw it for what it was. The Dragon didn’t  _ want _ to fight the Lion. She would, at Blake’s best guess, rather have been anywhere else. 

But when the bell rang that didn’t stop her from charging her opponent. The two clashed in the center as the crowd roared, fists flying. The Lion ducked under a vicious right hook, and landed two thunderous body blows on the Dragon’s side. The Dragon reeled backwards for a moment, then flung herself back at the Lion almost too fast to see. The Lion deflected each strike with practiced ease, one, two, three, four, five, until the sixth landed home, slugging her across the face and sending her flying backwards with a shriek.

The Lion scrambled away, though the Dragon didn’t give chase even as the crowd bellowed for blood. Instead of attacking her weakened opponent, the Dragon looked around and Blake could feel the disgust radiating off of her. It was a mistake to look away, as the Lion lashed out with her rope dart, wrapping it around the Dragon’s knee and yanking, forcing her to the ground.

The Dragon’s yelp of surprise was cut short when the Lion slammed her knee into the woman’s face, shattering her mask and sending her rolling backwards. Blake narrowed her eyes as she saw the woman without her mask, long golden hair falling down around her face and barely revealing lilac eyes as she glared up at her opponent. The Lion settled back into a fighting stance and gestured for the Dragon to come get her. The crowd roared their approval.

The Dragon obliged them all and rushed forwards with a roar. The rope dart snaked out, trying to tangle up her legs but the Dragon dove over the attack and rose with a tackle, slamming into the Lion and sending them both to the ground. 

The two grappled on the ground for a moment, until the Dragon smashed her fists down onto the Lion’s chest, making her scream in pain. In the momentary respite that gave her, the Dragon rolled off her opponent and grabbed her by the waist and shoulders. With a mighty bellow she stood, hoisting up her opponent, who flailed helplessly. 

The crowd roared.

The rich folk screamed for blood.

Weiss frowned.

And Blake heard a horrified, ashamed young woman scream that she was sorry before she slammed her opponent across her knee with a sickening crunch. The Lion rolled onto the ground as the crowd bellowed and cheered, guards rushing out and gathering up the gladiators. The Dragon turned and punched one of them, bellowing in rage, her golden hair flowing behind her and her eyes suddenly red, but then she froze and turned back. The Lion’s mask had fallen off and her eyes were pleading as she stared at her companion. The Dragon collapsed to her knees as her companion was carried away and the guards surrounded her. Her eyes, lilac again, were unfocussed and lost, her gaze drifting across the blood stained sand. Blake wanted nothing more than to run down and free her, to take her away from this place and make her safe. The urge was sudden and strange, one that she didn’t think she’d ever felt before nor ever would again, but at that moment she would have given anything to make the Dragon safe, to give her a place to heal.

“Oh what fun,” Henry exclaimed, snapping Blake back to the balcony, “We’re the ones who will be bidding on her! I can always use more guards, you know, the laborers have been getting ideas.” Weiss smiled politely and stood, saying,

“Well, I wish you the best in purchasing her. As for me, I have another matter to attend to. Always a pleasure, Henry.”

“Of course, Weiss,” Henry said, standing and grabbing Weiss’ hand, planting a small kiss on it without permission. Weiss’ practiced smile almost fractured and Blake saw her muscles tense like they always did before a fight, but then the moment was gone and Weiss gently reclaimed her hand and stepped away with a polite nod.

As she passed by Blake, gesturing for her to follow, Blake hissed, “We need to buy the Dragon.” The words were unbidden, almost coming from a place that Blake could barely call her own, but she knew that she meant them the moment she said them. This was her opportunity. She  _ had  _ to see it through.

“What?” Weiss said, turning around in shock, reminding Blake so much of when they had first met, of the rich girl who had never seen much of the world.

“The Dragon,” Blake muttered, trying her best not to seem like she was giving orders to her employer. Weiss’ goodwill only went so far, friends or not. “We can use her. We’re traveling to Mantle, more hands are always better and we know she can fight.”

“Even if I wanted her,” Weiss hissed back, stepping around Blake so she was out of sight, “I don’t have my family’s money anymore. I can’t out buy Henry Marigold.”

“Does he know that?” 

“What?”

“Does he know that you’re not part of the family any more?” Blake asked softly and Weiss’ eyes widened in realization.

“He might,” she murmured, “but I’m not a good liar, we know this already.”

“So I’ll do it,” Blake said with a shrug, “Say that I’m your voice in matters concerning lesser peoples or some other rich person bullshit.”

Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes, but Blake could see her coming around to the idea. After a while, as a pair of guards walked in with a bill of sale in hand, Weiss muttered, “Fine. Tell them to bill my father.”

“With pleasure,” Blake scoffed and stepped towards the guards. They gave her a once over and she gave them right back, affirming that if worse came to worst she could take them both on with ease. “I’m Miss Schnee’s assistant. I’ll be bidding for her.” The guards were silent for a long while, then one shrugged and held up the bill of sale.

“The contract for the Dragon,” she said, “Starting a one thousand Lien.”

“One thousand?” someone, another rich bastard, yelled, “No gladiator is worth one thousand Lien.” A few of the other rich people nodded in assent, but not Henry Marigold who said,

“Two thousand.”

The guard nodded.

“Twenty five hundred,” Blake cut in and the guard turned to look at her and nodded. She felt Henry Marigold shoot a glare at her, but didn’t deign to respond. It would’ve looked petty. Blake would much rather have punched him.

“Thirty five hundred.”

“Four thousand.”

Now Blake did look over to see Henry Marigold’s rage barely contained behind a veneer of civility. “Very well then, Miss Schnee. Seven thousand.”

Blake heard Weiss gasp, and glanced over to see her jaw hard and her lips in a thin line. There was a long moment of silence, then the guard said, “Seven thousand, going once. Twice.” She paused for effect and Blake snarled to herself as she felt the moment passing her by.

“Ten thousand,” Blake said, snapping her gaze back to the guard. She felt the eyes of the entire room upon her and looked around with an amicable smile. “Ten thousand for the Dragon.”

The guard cleared their throat and said, “Very well. Ten thousand, going once. Twice.” She paused again and when no one else made any offers, she said, “Sold, to Miss Schnee.” The guard offered Blake the bill of sale and Blake snatched it away, hiding a gleeful smile as Henry Marigold stormed out of the room, muttering curses to himself.

“Send a bill to the Schnee Estate,” Blake said matter of factly and the guard nodded, then led the way out. Soon it was just Weiss and Blake in the room and Blake walked up, gently pressing the bill of sale into Weiss’ hands. “Congratulations Weiss,” she said softly, “you own a gladiator now.”

“You made a good choice with this one,” the guard was saying as he led Blake and Weiss deeper into the cell block that housed all the gladiators. Blake tried not to think about the people around her, the ones who were too tired to resist when they were dragged up to the arena above, or worse, the ones who enjoyed it. “The Golden Dragon’s our best, personal favorite of mine too. She’s tough, smart, and she don’t take guff from anyone, not even the commanders. You treat her right, she’ll get you to wherever you're going alive.”

Weiss responded in a voice that was so disinterested, so half heartedly committed that Blake almost thought she hadn’t been listening. But she knew better, this was just another move in the game, another play in the chess match. The rules and goal evaded Blake, the intricacies of the rich were a mystery to her, but she knew that it was a game that Weiss played well. “As long as she listens, it doesn't much matter how I treat her, does it?”

The guard sucked on their teeth for a moment in thought, then shrugged as he stopped in front of a cell. “Suit yourself. Oi, Dragon!” He banged his spear on the cell bars, but the golden haired woman inside didn’t react. “You didn’t get hit that hard. Get up.” The woman’s eyes flicked up and Blake caught the guard taking a small step back. He fished the key off a ring and unlocked the door, opening it slowly. “This here’s Miss Schnee. She owns you now. Get up. Don’t make this harder than it already is.”

The woman stared at the guard for a long moment, then sighed and stood. She was even bigger up close than in the arena, Blake noted, towering over six feet and substantially broader than Blake. The very sight made Blake wince as she remembered the Golden Dragon smashing her opponent’s back in the fight. If Weiss was intimidated, she didn’t show it. Instead, she fished out the bill of sale and waved it in front of the woman’s face. “Can you read?” The woman didn’t respond. “I own you, gladiator. You’re my property. When I say move, you move. When I say sit, you sit. Get that?” The woman said nothing, only nodded slowly. She studied Weiss shoes and Weiss nodded in satisfaction, then said, “Good. Follow me.” 

As Weiss turned, Blake caught the woman looking up once more before falling in line, a fierce intelligence in her eyes. It might have been a small glance, a tiny motion lost in the mi that was human movement, but to Blake the woman might as well have screamed that she was looking for a chance to escape. All the better, Blake supposed. She just wanted the woman to be safe. As soon as they were away from the Arena, safe could be anywhere for someone as skilled as the Golden Dragon.

Weiss walked side by side with the guard, chatting amicably about gladiators and arena fights, while Blake walked a step behind the Golden Dragon, one hand on her sword. They might have freed the woman, but that didn’t mean she had to be grateful. Blake had seen more than one prisoner attempt an escape in the middle of a transfer, and if the Golden Dragon tried to make a break for it Blake wasn’t sure she’d be able to stop her. Hell, she wasn’t sure if she really wanted to try. After a long while of walking and listening to Weiss prattle on with the guard, Blake heard the woman’s voice. It was soft, lilting, and dripping with contempt. 

“She owns you too?”

“What?” Blake asked, furrowing her brow and taking a step towards the woman.

“The Schnee. She owns you too?” the woman asked, raising an eyebrow and Blake shook her head.

“No. I’m a mercenary, not a slave.”

The woman grunted and shook her head. “So you get paid to do all the shit I do for free?”

“If that’s how you want to look at it,” Blake said slowly and the woman snorted softly.

“No other way to look at it.”

There was another long moment of silence, then Blake said, “I’m Blake.” The woman said nothing. “What’s your name?”

“Doesn’t matter. Most people just call me Dragon,” the woman said with a heavy sigh and Blake frowned.

“It matters to me,” she said and the woman snapped her head to the side sharply, lilac eyes boring into Blake’s amber.

“Why?”

Blake sighed and glanced up at Weiss, making sure that she and the guard were out of earshot. “Because I’m the one who convinced her to buy you. If I get my way, you won’t be anyone’s property for much longer.”

The woman stared at her for a long moment, instinct keeping her moving more than intent, then laughed softly. “It’s already been three years. What’s a few more minutes?” She smiled, a cocky, brash thing, but laden with a hope so thick that Blake almost felt surrounded by it. It was a good feeling, she thought. “I’m Yang.”

“Good to meet you, Yang,” Blake said softly and Yang’s smile grew gentle. It was just a small shift, a miniscule change, but Blake rarely missed anything. Yang might as well have hugged her.

“You too, Blake.”

Blake nodded with a smile of her own and murmured, “Now c’mon, let’s get you some real food.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A scrap from an AU that I've decided is probably never gonna be written out any further. The big twist that never got written is that Ruby hasn't seen Yang since she was captured for the gladiatorial arena three years before this scene and Weiss and Blake unwittingly reunite them.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	26. Reflections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deep in Salem's stronghold, Neopolitan starts to think that she might be a bit in over her head.

Whatever Neo had thought Cinder’s boss was going to be like, it wasn’t this. Bosses were either bigger and stronger than you or clever enough to make up for the difference. Cinder’s boss was...well, she was old and thin. She looked like a strong gust of wind might send her tumbling over and break a hip, but there was something...unnerving about her. Neo knew the power of well crafted illusion, after all she spent most of her time with Roman fooling people with mirages to keep them out of the way of their schemes. Or sometimes she did it for fun, it was always a good laugh when someone saw her shatter into a million pieces and had an existential breakdown. 

The others were an interesting bunch, but no one that Neo really considered a threat to her, if things went south. This was a criminal empire after all, albeit with a lot more Grimm than she was used to. Neo had made a habit of figuring out who she could beat if she needed to make a break for it. The only reason that she’d technically worked  _ for _ Roman and not the other way around was personal, not because she thought he’d be able to beat her in a fight. He’d gotten his ass handed to him by a fourteen year old, for fuck’s sake. 

Then there was the scorpion Faunus, who’d decided to try being threatening. It was honestly kind of cute, how hard he tried. Neo briefly wondered how smug he’d be when he was deepthroating his own stinger, hiding her smile as best she could. Arrogance, like most single minded character traits, was exactly the kind of weakness that Neo loved to exploit.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she almost didn’t hear Cinder say, “She has proven to be a valuable asset.”

The boss laughed softly and said, “You certainly do enjoy collecting assets.” This time Neo couldn’t hold back her disgust, almost stomping her foot in annoyance. She wasn’t an  _ asset, _ she was a  _ partner _ . Roman had understood that, no matter how high or low their ambitions brought them. Cinder seemed like she was in need of a reminder.

There was the big guy, who looked like he had more muscles than brains. He’d be easy enough to deal with, Neo had fought more people like that than she could count. The only one who’d ever escaped was blondie on the train, and that was only because that bitch of a bandit leader had decided to show her face. But that was in the past, right now Neo was already figuring out a way to kill off this new opponent. A few misdirections, a handful of semblance traps, and whoops, big man’s on his way to Atlas at terminal velocity. 

Then there were the other two, the ones that Neo remembered from Beacon, Emerald and...whatever his name was. Neo hadn’t paid much attention to him, writing him off as a minor speed bump if she needed to make a move. Today wasn’t much different, and Neo had to keep from snorting with laughter as she saw him attempt a glower. The other one, Emerald, she was interesting, following Cinder around like a lost puppy. It almost made Neo sad to see it, if the sadness wasn’t covered up by an understanding of how utterly pathetic it was. Whatever Emerald was doing here, she was in way over her head and she didn’t even know it.

Then again, Neo mused, what did that make her?

The scorpion man was going on about how great he was, and Neo was doing her best to tune it out. Cinder snapped back at him, while Neo watched with growing disinterest. Squabbles like this were best settled with a fistfight, not an argument. Even though she didn’t much care for Cinder, Neo had no doubt that scorpio over there would be cooked to crisp if he tried anything. 

The boss spoke and Neo’s thoughts froze, every aspect of her person tuned to listen to what this woman had to say. “This game is not yours to win, Cinder. It’s mine.” The building they were in, the massive floating Grimm, groaned as the woman lay her hand on her throne. Red energy pulsed out from the throne and into the creature, and with another great groan the clouded wall in front of them all cleared to reveal Atlas. Ships floated in the air in a defensive pattern, smaller craft sailed to and fro to gather information. It was a city on the brink of collapse. If Neo wasn’t more unnerved by her current company than the risk of being eaten by Grimm, she might have been pleased. The woman continued, “Just because you’re more useful to me than a pawn, does not make you a player. Everything is already in motion. All you need concern yourself with is you ability to act when I tell you to.”

Neo felt a cold shock of fear sink into her bones as she heard that. This woman-this  _ monster _ -was already thinking of the next city, the next conquest. Atlas was just an obstacle she had already overcome. Neo had run into plenty of people like this before, Roman had been one of them, but she knew better than to stick around to work with this one. To this woman, she wasn’t even a person but a tool. Neo wasn’t dumb enough to think that any reward was worth the chance of being discarded like a used rag. 

Cinder knew it too, or at least part of it, as she bowed to the woman. “Of course,” she said softly, “Without you, I am nothing.” The woman relaxed slightly and waved them all away, Neo falling into line behind Cinder, glaring openly at her back. 

Well, Neo grumbled to herself,  _ you _ might be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had this idea bumping around since Episode One...really looking forwards to where Neo goes from here!  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	27. Obey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was a good soldier. She was a perfect soldier. Protecting Atlas mattered. The Vault mattered. Nothing else. She was a perfect soldier. She would [Obey]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Volume Eight Spoilers! Well, kind of. If you don't want to read spoilers, don't read this until you're caught up!

The Vault was all that mattered. She had to get to the Vault, open it, and help Atlas escape the oncoming horde of Grimm that awaited them in the distance. It was fortunate that she had fallen in Mantle, mostly unharmed due to waking up while a few hundred feet off the ground. She was perfectly capable of flying up to Atlas on her own, of course, but the escort that she had received was also perfectly acceptable. Things were chaotic in Mantle, the Ace Ops were a symbol of protection and purpose. It was good that the people had seen them, it would remind them who was really protecting them. 

The airship doors opened and she stepped out, hovering slightly above the ground without so much as a thought. “Thank you, Specialist Schnee,” she said curtly, turning to meet the eye of the woman who had been in charge of finding her, “I am glad to be back where I belong.” 

“Of course,” Specialist Schnee said, her lips twitching in displeasure. That would need to be reported to the General. Dissent was the last thing they needed, especially now. As Specialist Schnee led the way to the General, the Ace Ops fell in line. They were in perfect synchronicity, as they should be. They were good soldiers, though Marrow needed to be spoken to. The frown hadn’t left his face since they met in the streets of Mante. But that could wiat, right now she needed to get to the General, and from there to-

To-

_ Wh...where am I? Atlas? Why am I here? I...Dad? Ruby? Did the broadcast wo-  _ [Obey]  _ The broa-  _ [Obey]

She shook her head with a small frown, pushing the wandering thoughts from her mind. She was a good soldier, just like the Ace Ops. There was no room for questioning the General’s orders, nor for thinking about that foolish plan to warn the other Kingdoms about the impending threat of Salem. As though such a thing would have saved them, the only way to keep Remnant safe was to put Atlas in high orbit. Without that, the world would fall to Salem’s wrath, and she would find all the relics. That wouldn’t do.

The Academy passed by in a blur as she walked with purpose towards the General’s temporary office. Dozens of streams of information flooded her mind at once, communication reports, troop movements, a tactical analysis of her fight with the criminal known as Cinder Fall, and she took them all in patiently, sorting the information and readying herself to use them in defense of Atlas. That was all that mattered, after all.

The General turned slowly as she entered and snapped into a perfect salute, her robotic limbs moving with perfect precision. She could’ve held that salute for hours, been glad to, if the General wanted her to do so. “Sir,” she said, not meeting his eyes. It would’ve been a breach of conduct, and she was a perfect soldier. 

“Ah, Penny,” the General said, a small shadow of relief crossing his face. “It’s good to have you back.” If she wasn’t a perfect soldier, she might’ve felt a preening of pride at that, at being one of Ironwood’s favorite soldiers, but there was nothing. Emotion was for the undisciplined, personal feelings were for fools. Duty mattered. Discipline mattered. They were familiar. They were good.

_ I do not see what is _ [Obey]

The thoughts faded as she twitched her nose. It was getting easier to ignore them, to bend them to her purpose. Soon, she was sure that they would fall in line as they should. She was a perfect soldier. Wandering thoughts were a distraction she didn’t have time to entertain. 

“What are your orders, General?” she asked and the General steepled his fingers as he considered the question.

“Head down to the Vault, and obtain the relic,” he said, “Get Atlas to safety.”

“Yes sir,” she said, dropping her salute and wheeling on her heel. The Vault was nearby, she had been there before to prepare for this plan. This was it, the culmination of her life, her reason for being, her purpose. Nothing could be greater than this. 

“And Penny?” the General said and she froze, not turning around to face him. She was a perfect soldier. He knew she would [Obey]. “When we’re in atmosphere, head back to Mantle. Find Ruby Rose and her compatriots.”

“What will I do with them when I find them?” she asked and the General scoffed softly.

“They’re traitors to Atlas. You’re authorized to carry out a summary execution.” 

“Sir yes sir,” she said, then continued towards the vault. That was good. The fewer enemies that Atlas had the better, especially now. Especially when it came to criminal scum like Ruby Ro-

_ Ruby! I have to warn Ruby! I can’t hurt her, I won’t! I have to  _ [Obey].  _ No, I won’t! This isn't me! I would never hurt Ruby, I would never hurt someone that I care about! I  _ [Obey] 

_ I have to  _ [Obey]

_ No, I  _ [Obey]

_I_ [Obey]

[Obey]

[Obey]

_ Obey _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So episode five, huh?  
> Really hoping that things don't get this bad for our favorite Maiden, but...  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!  
> Also! I'm going to link my Twitter and Tumblr so people can stay up to date!  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakobretheKitty  
> Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacubesilvora


	28. Songs for the Sickly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Yang recovers from a cold, Blake takes care of her as best she can with tea, soft words, and singing her to sleep.

“Hey baby,” Blake said softly as she knelt next to her and Yang’s bed. Yang was currently curled up in a ball, wrapped in enough blankets that she looked like she’d built a nest, sick as a dog from the common cold. 

“Mmph,” Yang moaned, turning her head to look at Blake. Her eyes were half open and her nose red from sneezing and using three boxes of tissues in half a day, a frown set firmly on her face. The frown flickered for a moment as she saw Blake, breaking into a smile for a moment, before letting out a whine and turning away again. 

“How are you feeling?” Blake asked, reaching up and gently placing a hand on her shoulder. Yang sighed and curled tighter into a ball, mumbling,

“Like shit. I’ve got, like, four blankets, and I’m still cold. I’m a fucking space heater, how do I have chills?” Blake sighed with a small smile, and gave her wife’s shoulder a small squeeze.

“You’re sick, hon. It happens. If you want, I could explain it to you.” The suddenness of Yang’s illness had been enough of a shock that Blake had researched the cold, symptoms, and how it all worked on a biological level, for hours. It hadn’t helped much, most of the cures were simply ‘rest, drink fluids, and sleep’. Yang was already on top of that, having stayed in bed the whole day unless it was strictly necessary. “You still have a headache?” Blake asked and Yang shook her head gingerly, as though afraid of jostling her brain.

“Nope,” she murmured, “That’s almost gone. Just the rest of it.” She let out another whine and tucked her head underneath the blankets, mumbling, “This is bullshit. It’s all bullshit. Why did I have to get sick this week?”

“You’ll be better by friday,” Blake reassured her and Yang sighed heavily with a slow nod. “I know you’re worried about infecting Weiss when we see her, but she’s tough. Besides, you’re gonna kick this cold’s ass.”

“It’s kicking  _ my _ ass,” Yang grumbled and Blake snorted with laughter. She looked over at the bedside table, seeing an empty mug of tea and a plate that had contained plain toast.

She took them both, tucking them against her body as she stood with a grunt. “You want some more tea?”

“Please?” Yang whimpered and Blake nodded, giving her another reassuring squeeze before heading to the kitchen. She poured some tea into the mug and tossed it into the microwave, heating it up until it was piping hot. That was one thing about Yang’s temperature and how hot she was, she could handle things that would burn other people’s mouths like it was nothing. The hotter the better anyway, Blake mused, she’d never seen Yang cold before. Even in the middle of nowhere up in Atlas, she had been fine. Jaune said that she’d been letting off steam once she started to work on their bike during the siege. Blake almost wished that she’d been there, if only so she could’ve seen Yang with her jacket off, snow evaporating into gas as it touched down on her skin. Then again, they were married now. Blake had every opportunity she liked to see Yang shirtless, and she frequently did. Even now, years later, Yang was still a mess when it came to flirting. Her best seduction tactic was to walk around in nothing but shorts and a sports bra, moving things around so as to show off her muscles. Blake didn’t complain of course, she loved Yang’s awkward flirting. It was part of what was so endearing about her, even if she still stumbled over her words when she tried to compliment Blake sometimes. It gave Blake a thrill that she could make Yang flustered.

The microwave beeped and Blake took out the tea, mixing in enough honey that she might have been giving it to Ruby. Yang swore by honey in her tea when she had a sore throat, even if she also swore specifically by honey grown on Patch. Still, they visited Taiyang enough that it wasn’t a problem to pick some up, and Blake got to have some of the best seafood in Remnant. It was a win-win, really. Blake smiled softly as she remembered their last trip to Patch, coincidentally arriving the day before Weiss and Ruby left. The two had been waylaid by a storm, forcing them to stay overnight, and Blake could only smile as she reminisced about the Xiao Long-Rose family teasing one another over dinner, her and Weiss staring on in a mixture of amusement and mortification. That was their plan this friday as well, going to see Ruby and Weiss in Mistral. The two traveled around Remnant, Huntresses for Hire, Qrow had joked, while Yang and Blake had set up shop in Kuo Kuana. Penny was also supposed to be there, though betting on Penny showing up was always a crapshoot. She was busier than all four members of Team RWBY combined, what with guarding Mantle and keeping a stern eye on General Ironwood while he rotted in prison. Hopefully they could all make it, and hopefully Yang would get over her cold in time. 

Blake had no doubt that she would, of course, Yang had an almost supernatural strength for fighting off disease, probably because she burned it out of her own body by sustaining a temperature over a hundred and ten degrees for twenty four hours straight. OF course, it came with the caveat that when she did get sick it was always worse than other people. While Blake might get sick for a few days but still be well enough to work, if not to go on hunts, Yang was bedridden even by the common cold. Pounding headaches, hacking coughs, sneezes so strong that they shook the house, all of that and more was common from a Yang Xiao Long cold. There wasn’t much they could do except let her rest and get better, even if she was furious about it. Yang liked to think that catching a cold was really a ‘fuck you’ from the universe.

“Tea,” Blake announced as she stepped back into the room, and there was a rustling of blankets accompanied by a heavy groan as Yang sat up. Her hair framed her face in a tangled mess, which only served to sour her mood further, and she looked like she would rather be doing anything other than sitting up, but she still smiled weakly and took the tea when offered.

“Thanks babe,” she murmured, taking a sip and letting out a happy hum. Blake watched her with a fond smile as she methodically sipped her tea so as not to upset her stomach. 

“You need anything else?” Blake asked, “I can snuggle up if you want to sleep.” Yang looked over with an expression that cleray said that she wanted to snuggle up to BLake more than anything in the world right now, but she held her enthusiasm back with a soft sigh.

“I don’t wanna get you sick,” she muttered and Blake nodded in rueful agreement. 

“Then...maybe I can sing you something?” she asked and Yang furrowed her brow in confusion.

“What?”

“You always sing me to sleep when I’m sick,” Blake said with a shrug, ignoring the rising nerves in her stomach. “I could do the same thing for you.”

“I…” Yang started to say, then smiled softly. “I’d really like that Blake.” She finished off her tea and settled back into bed, smiling at Blake as Blake tried to think of something to sing. It was true that Yang sang her to sleep when she was sick, sometimes just because she wanted to, but Blake had never done it in return. There were a lot of things that she could do without even breaking a sweat: facing down Grimm, giving a political speech to an entire continent, saving the whole world, but singing to her wife? That was a different story entirely. She had never been proud of her singing voice, much more happy with her speaking voice instead, but if she couldn’t curl up with Yang and let her sleep peacefully, this would have to do.

She cleared her throat, settling on a song that her mother had sung to her when she was little. It made sense, of course, Yang often sang her song that she had sung to Ruby when she was young, so Blake thought it was a good way to continue their tradition. “Goodnight, goodnight,” she sang, her voice cracking as she did so. SHe almost stopped entirely then, but the pure adoration and love in Yang’s expression made her keep going, “Sleep well, and when you dream, dream of me,” she continued, and the adoration faded into exhaustion, Yang’s eyes fluttering closed, “Tonight,” she sang softly, holding the last note as Yang started to snore softly. She sang it again, softer and gentler than before, the old song from her childhood flowing like a stream from her past to her present, the long nights of being afraid of thunderstorms as a child helping her sing her wife to sleep while she was sick. It was peaceful, serene even, and Blake couldn’t help but feel her love for Yang grow even more as she watched her slip into a deep slumber.

Yang’s snores shook the bed, but she was asleep. Blake stood with a small smile, leaning down to kiss her lightly on the cheek. Yang’s eyes fluttered open slightly, not enough to wake her but enough for her to mumble, “Love you…” Blake’s smile grew and she kissed her again, murmuring,

“Love you too, Yang. Sleep well, okay?”

“Mmhmm,” Yang grunted, then she started to snore again, her eyes shutting closed so firmly that Blake might have needed a crowbar to open them. She leaned back with a small sigh, her love for Yang battling with the ridiculous anger at the cold that was making her miserable. 

“Tomorrow’s another day,” Blake murmured to herself, tucking Yang in tighter, feeling the heat radiating off her like a stove. It took her a moment to realize how much she sounded like her mother, and she stood with a small scoff. She’d have to get Yang to agree never to tell Kali about this, or Blake would never hear the end of it. 

But that could come later. Right now, Blake headed back out to the living room to her book, the door to her and Yang’s room open just in case Yang needed anything. Blake settled into the couch, picking up her own tea and taking a sip as she continued to reread ‘The Man with Two Souls’. It seemed like today was just full of references to her past, but she didn’t mind. She got to be with Yang, she was  _ married _ to Yang. That was better than anything in her past.

Well, except making Yang blush red as a tomato in the Emerald Forest when they had chosen each other as partners. She still liked to tease Yang about that, and Yang would always sputter out a weak defense that, no, of  _ course _ she hadn’t fallen for Blake immediately, but they both knew that they had both fallen for one another. They had fallen hard, and Blake loved where they had wound up. Yang was the best part of her life these days, and she was the same for Yang. Tomorrow was another day, and Blake couldn’t wait to spend it with the most wonderful woman in the world. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Blake sings is from West Side Story, I was listening to a cover of it by Critical Bard while writing this.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!  
> Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacubesilvora  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakobretheKitty


	29. The Memorial Where We Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Childhood friends Blake and Yang continue to reconnect after years apart, this time at Summer's grave.

Another empty shot glass slammed down onto the table, sending twinkling slivers of moonlight into the dark corners of the bedroom. Catfish grit her teeth, trying to enjoy the burn of whiskey as she usually did, but there was no joy forthcoming tonight. It was the seventh day of the second week of the seventh month, the day that her life had changed forever. It was teh day that she had found her family slaughtered, charred corpses all that remained of her beloved mother and father in the ruins of her childhood home. It hadn’t even been the day they died, just the day that she found them. The bodies could’ve been a week old at that point, she had no way of knowing. That had been the day that she had changed her life, going from weaver’s apprentice to naval officer, then captain of her own ship. She could’ve-should’ve-done it alone, but Goldilocks was persistent. She had always said that wherever Catfish went, she would go too. Neither of them had expected it to take them halfway around the world, in pursuit of the queen’s mad sister, their purpose equal parts duty and vengeance. 

Goldilocks’ persistence was paying off, even now. The door to the bedroom creaked open and familiar golden hair filled the doorway, framing concerned lilac eyes. Catfish considered telling her to leave, to go back to her own room and wait until morning, but she knew it would be useless. Goldilocks was her friend, as much as her subordinate on the ship, but no amount of discipline or duty would keep her from trying to help the woman she cared about. Goldilocks stepped inside gingerly, closing the door behind her, and looked around the room slowly. One empty bottle of whiskey was already rolling around the floor, and another was soon to join it. The bed was half made, Catfish’s clothes from that day strewn about the room in a haphazard mess, her shirt askew and her pants undone as she slumped in a chair, hair a frizzled nest. 

“How much have you had to drink?” Goldilocks murmured, stepping forwards and reaching out for the bottle that was still firmly in Catfish’s grasp. If she expected Catfish to grab it away from her, she didn’t, instead letting her take it and cork it once more. 

Even so, Catfish rasped out, “Not enough.” Goldilocks sighed and looked away, clutching at her arm awkwardly. Here, duty intersected with friendship. They were still in a naval dorm, no matter how badly they wanted to go rogue. Eyes could be anywhere, and ears were everywhere. Even her being here this late at night could be seen as insubordination and get her court martialed. “Captain,” Goldilocks said and Catfish grit her teeth, hand clenching into a fist so tight that she would’ve shattered the bottle of whiskey if she still held it in her grasp.

“Don’t call me that,” she choked out, sorrow and bile rising in her throat as all of her emotions rushed to the fore, leaving her aching and raw in their wake, “Please, don’t call me that. Not tonight.” 

Goldilocks stepped forwards, gently stroking a lock of hair behind Catfish’s ear. Catfish shuddered and leaned into the touch, eyes closing as she felt Goldlock’s strong hand support her. “Baby…” she murmured and Catfish whimpered.

_ Look up etymological root of ‘baby’ as a term of endearment. Tiffany problem? _

Catfish rested a hand on Goldilocks, clutching tightly as Goldilocks knelt in front of her, stroking her cheek gently. 

“Baby, you can’t keep doing this,” Goldilocks murmured softly, wiping away a fat teardrop as Catfish began to cry. “You’re going to drink yourself to death one of these years.”

“I should,” Catfish said bitterly and Goldilocks leaned back with a frown, “It would save that miserable hag the trouble of killing me herself.”

“That miserable hag isn’t going to do anything of the sort,” Goldilocks said firmly, “You’re going to put your cutlas through her heart. That’s what you told me after I found about…” Goldilocks trailed off apologetically and Catfish grit her teeth once more, another wave of emotion rocking her. She knew what Goldilocks meant, of course, when she found out about Catfish’s family and took her in, when they made their plans to join the navy. “I’m sorry,” she murmured and Catfish shook her head lightly, reaching out her own hand to stroke Goldilocks’ cheek with her thumb. Goldilocks looked up and met her eye, lilac gaze brimming with tears. “They loved you. You know that, right? Even when they sent you to the apprenticeship, they loved you.”

“I know,” Catfish said, “I know they did.” Goldilocks leaned forwards and gently bumped her forehead against Catfish’s, sighing as they nestled against one another. They stayed that way for a long while, the stars and twin moons carrying on overhead, until finally, weakly, Goldilocks managed to say,

“Do you want me to stay?”

“Please,” Catfish choked out, “I can’t be alone tonight.”

“Okay,” Goldilocks said, shifting her head to place a small kiss on Catfish’s nose, “Then we should get some sleep. We’re meeting the governor tomorrow, and I don’t think you want to meet him while you’re hungover.” Catfish snorted softly with laughter and nodded, already missing the warmth of Goldilocks’ touch as she leaned back and stood, offering a hand to Catfish. As she took it, Catfish knew that she couldn’t be too mad. She was going to spend a night with the woman she...she...well, that she cared for greatly. They didn’t have a name for what they were just yet, partners, friends, fiances, nothing fit right now. 

Instead, they were just going to go to bed together, pouring out their love and sorrow into one another and finding a home for each. That would have to do right now. As Catfish climbed into bed and snuggled up against Goldilocks, she finally allowed herself to cry fully. Goldilocks wrapped her up in her arms, cooing softly and whispering sweet nothings in her ear, small reassurances that they were okay, they were together. After a few hours, Catfish even found that she could believe that. So she drifted off to sleep, a dreamless, peaceful sleep, with her best friend.

Blake sat back in her chair and stretched, glad to have finished writing another chapter of her book. It was coming along well, living in Vale was doing wonders for her imagination and discipline, and the bi-weekly hangouts with Yang were doing wonders for her mood. It was, in all estimations and accounts, a wonderful thing.

She glanced at the clock on her computer and started, leaping out of her chair after saving her work. It was nearly one-thirty, and she had places to be. Yang had asked her to come visit Summer’s memorial, after Blake had asked to pay her respects. She hadn’t known Summer that well, not nearly as well as she knew Yang, but it still felt right to say...something. Something for the woman who had raised her best friend in the whole world, taken too soon and so unfairly. It was almost ironic, Blake mused as she tied her shoelaces and headed for the door, what a scene to write before going to comfort Yang on the anniversary of her mother’s death. Maybe Blake couldn’t make it right, but she could be there. That had to count for something. 

Yang looked up from the gravestone that had held her attention for the past half hour as the sound of crunching leaves grew closer. Summer’s memorial was a small gravestone on a cliff, overlooking the ocean. The sea had never seen fit to return her to her family, so all they had left was a grave. Still, even with the weight of where she stood, Yang couldn’t help a small smile from appearing on her face as she saw Blake approaching. 

“Hey,” Blake said softly, stepping up next to her, eyes fixed on the grave. 

“Hey,” Yang sighed, turning back to stare at the grave with her. 

“Ruby and Tai aren’t here?” Blake murmured and Yang shook her head slowly.

“Nah, they don’t like to come on the anniversary. Ruby stays locked in her room all day and dad...he’s still pretty fragile about the whole thing,” Yang muttered. She looked over in surprise when Blake bumped into her gently and Yang smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Blake hummed softly and leaned into the contact as they stood there. Yang tried to take what comfort she could from Blake’s presence. She had always been alone when she came up here, the one time a year she did. Ruby took care of the rest, dropping off birthday cards and mother’s day cards. Yang couldn’t, she always came up with some excuse not to. It was easier to pretend like the grave didn’t exist, like all they had left of Summer were the happy memories. Some days it was easier to pretend she’d never existed at all. 

“I should’ve come back sooner,” Blake murmured, “I should’ve been here. I just...I never heard about it. Mom and dad never kept up with you guys, and I never…” She sighed and cut herself off, muttering, “I should’ve come back sooner.”

“It’s not your fault,” Yang said with a shrug, “Most people don’t know. Dad didn’t tell anyone for months, hell, Qrow didn’t know about it until six months after it happened.” Yang could still remember that conversation, the shouting, the accusations, the hurt and anger that Tai had kept Summer’s death a secret from Qrow, one of her closest friends. Still, Yang knew why he had done it, the same reason she sometimes pretended that she never had a mother at all. “He didn’t wanna face it, dad, I mean. Guess he thought if other people didn’t know then he could just act like it hadn’t happened.”

“That must’ve been hard,” Blake said softly and Yang nodded, gritting her teeth to hold back the tears she knew would come. 

“It was,” she choked out, “He shut down, Blake. He didn’t...he went to work and got us groceries and said good morning, but it-it wasn’t  _ him _ , Blake. It was like a puppet in the shape of my dad.” Blake tucked her arms around Yang and Yang allowed herself to lean into her, holding back a sob with a vicious inhale. “I had to look after the whole family. Ruby didn’t leave her room for six months, dad just...I was fourteen, Blake. I woke up a fourteen year old kid and went to bed an adult.”

Blake wrapped her up in her arms as Yang collapsed to the ground, and Yang was sure that Blake could hear her grinding her teeth to keep from crying then and there. She had shed too many tears at this gravestone already, hell, she had probably watered the fucking flowers for a decade, but somehow she was never able to keep the tears at bay for long. Summer had been what held their family together and then she was just...gone. Yang felt the first tear trickle down her cheek and she choked back a sob. Blake didn’t need to hear her crying, she didn’t need to see her like that. It wasn’t fair to-

Yang gasped and Blake hugged her tighter, gently placing one hand on the back of her head. More tears started to fall, wetting Blake’s shoulder, and Yang found herself almost upset with herself for ruining Blake’s shirt. 

“It’s okay,” Blake murmured, as though reading her thoughts, “It’s okay, Yang. You shouldn’t have had to do any of that. You should’ve been allowed to be a kid.”

That was all it took for Yang to break down entirely, collapsing against Blake and burying her head into the crook of her neck, tears streaming down her face. She cried harder than she ever had before, harder than any other anniversary, wracking sobs making her chest heave and hot tears carving a path through the grime and muck of her day of work. Sorrow rose up in her chest and lodged into her throat, almost keeping her from breathing as she gulped down air, turning the breaths into sobs just as quickly. 

Eventually her tears slowed, as the cold air of the Patch night pierced through her jacket and into her veins. She leaned back, but Blake kept her in that same tight hug. Yang let out another sob, drawing what comfort she could from Blake’s presence. “Sorry,” she rasped out after a moment, “I didn’t...I’m usually better about that.” 

“Don’t apologize,” Blake said, almost scolding her, “You don’t have anything to be sorry about.”

“But-but I cried for…” Yang looked around slowly, seeing the sun sinking in the distance and the stars rising around them, twinkling prinpicks of light in the eternal sky. “It’s been hours, Blake.”

“I know,” Blake said softly. “You needed it. You needed to-” She was cut off as Yang shook her head forcefully, almost wrenching herself away at the idea of needing to cry, of needing to be vulnerable, to be  _ weak _ . She might have done so too if Blake hadn’t reached up and gently stroked her cheek, guiding her to look into her eyes. Tear stained lilac stared into compassionate amber, and Blake murmured, “You’re allowed to feel those things, Yang. You know that, right?” 

“I...I…” Yang started to say, feeling another wave of tears rising in her chest, but she shook it away with a small shudder as Blake stroked her cheek again. She wasn’t sure what she had been about to say, so instead she simply said the truth. “Nobody’s ever said that to me before.”

“Nobody?” Blake asked softly and Yang nodded slowly.

“Nobody. Dad tried to get me to go to therapy about it, but he wasn’t going and I just...I figured I could handle it.” A laugh forced its way out of Yang’s throat, drifting off into the night with no real humor behind it. “I tried to move on. I pushed through it, doubled down on school. Ruby needed help, dad needed help, and...and I was the only one who could do it.”

Blake sighed softly, that same gentle look gleaming in her eyes that was so kind and tender that Yang wanted to melt into her gaze and never leave. “You never had time to mourn,” she said softly, and Yang choked back another sob, nodding in agreement.

“Nope,” she said softly, “Dad and Ruby did, but I never did. Just...we were eating dinner when we found out.” The words became a whisper so soft that Blake perked up her cat ears to hear better. “We were waiting for mom to get home. She went out sailing and sometimes she came home after dinner, but she always came home. I had math homework that I knew dad wasn’t gonna be able to help me with, and Ruby had just gotten a part in the school play. She was so fucking proud, we all were.” Yang took a shuddering breath, pushing past the rising urge to stop and continuing, emboldened by the soft expression on Blake’s face and the touch of her hand. “I don’t even remember who told us, somebody from the coast guard. They came up personally, knocked on the door and everything. They said that they’d called before, but we don’t answer the phone during dinner, you know?” Blake nodded and Yang continued, “He looked at us, Ruby and me, and he asked to see dad outside. I just...I took Ruby and ran upstairs. I knew something was wrong. I thought maybe mom was in the hospital or trapped somewhere but just…” Yang felt the tears begin again but she managed to keep speaking, her voice breaking as she did so, “She was just  _ gone _ , Blake. Her ship, her radio, mom...she just vanished. The coast guard tried to tell us that she might be found but...We all kinda knew she wasn’t gonna come home.” 

Blake cupped her jaw gently, leaning forwards to press their foreheads together. She didn’t say anything and Yang didn’t know what she wanted Blake to say. Summer was gone and now...she couldn’t focus on it. So instead she focused on other things, distracting herself like she always did. School had helped at first, then mechanics, then her arm, then her job, now it was Blake. Drifting from distracting to distraction rather than facing down the horror of her own emotion, that sounded about right. So Yang focused on Blake, the soft gleam of the stars in her eyes, the curve of her nose, her brown skin, glowing in the moonlight, her lips...Yang focused on her lips for longer than she wanted to admit. 

They stayed there for a long while, Yang pouring out her sorrow and Blake taking it all, pouring out her comfort and love in return. Yang wanted to rest in that moment, that strange liminal time with Blake where they could just be, where they could sit and rest and heal. But eventually the night came on faster, the moon rose behind the, and Blake murmured, 

“We should get you home.” 

Yang shook her head softly and mumbled, “It’s three hours back to Vale. I was gonna stay on Patch for the weekend, stay with dad and Ruby.” She furrowed her brow as Blake nodded, like she had already known that.

“Let’s get you home,” she repeated and stood, gently tugging Yang to her feet. Yang caught sight of Summer’s grave behind her and Blake turned to look at it, a small, strangled smile on her face. She murmured something under her breath, adoration shining in her eyes, then she turned back to Yang, entwiting her fingers with Yang’s. “I took a cab up here,” she murmured and Yang nodded slowly.

“I rode my bike,” she said, automatically and Blake said,

“I can drive us home.” Home, Yang realized, not ‘your home’ or ‘Tai’s house’,  _ home _ . Blake had said it so simply, so naturally that it was like she wasn’t just driving Yang back to her father’s house, but rather like she was coming home too. Yang wanted to deny how wonderful an idea that sounded like to her, the idea of her and Blake finding a home together, especially today, but the idea stuck itself firmly next to Blake in her mind and refused to budge. So, instead of getting stuck on that idea, Yang furrowed her brow and asked,

“You can ride a motorcycle?”

Blake shrugged, gently leading the way towards the path that led to Yang’s bike. “My friend Ilia taught me, she’s a huge motorcycle lesbian.” Yang let out a bark of laughter at that, a sound that was so strange and foreign to the memorial that it almost seemed insulting. She felt a flush of embarrassment, and didn’t say anything until they were on the path, Summer’s grave tucked away in the woods behind them. 

“So what does that make me?” she asked and Blake smirked softly.

“An even bigger motorcycle lesbian,” she said dryly and Yang felt a grin cross her face despite everything. 

“A motorcycle butch, you mean,” she murmured and Blake shrugged, a small smile on her face. Soon they were in sight of Bumblebee and Yang let out a happy sigh, unsure if she was glad to be heading home or glad to be leaving the grave. Either way, she had her family waiting for her at home, and her best friend was by her side. That had to count for something. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might just make this into it's own fic at this point. We'll see.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!


	30. What if?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In an alternate universe, Taiyang Xiao Long is sent on a mission to Atlas. There, he finds a scared little girl in need of help, a little girl named Cinder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for RWBY Vol. 8, Ep. 6! If you're not caught up and don't want to be spoiled, don't read!

Taiyang Xiao Long was not in the habit of adopting children. He had two wonderful children at home, one a rambunctious and excitable three year old and the other a toddler who had just started to develop her own personality. He had a lovely wife and a wonderful family, he had no reason to assume that he would ever need to adopt a child. The thought had never even crossed his mind, let alone made him freeze while at dinner in a place so upscale it made his skin crawl. 

But then he had seen her, the servant girl, the one the children of the Madam laughed at when they thought no one was looking. Then he saw her jaw clench in a horrible rage, tears brimming at her eye before she forced them back down. He saw her flinch as the Madam saw her hesitance, saw the small drift of the Madam’s hand towards something in her pocket, something that made the girl’s eyes go wide with barely restrained fear. 

He saw the way the girl watched the door hopefully, a faraway look in her eye. He had seen her idly shifting from foot to foot, slipping into a practiced fighting stance when she thought herself alone. He had seen her scratch at the necklace she wore, the one with its strange Dust crystal, the kind he had heard about in dark corners and secret circles while on missions. He had seen all that, and more while on a mission from Oz, a scouting mission in Atlas. The reason for his mission had stopped mattering to him the moment he saw that girl. 

Taiyang Xiao Long wasn’t in the habit of adopting children, but he was in the habit of righting wrongs. 

“Hey,” he said to the girl one evening, as she dropped off a fresh cup of coffee. Tai had a large stack of papers on his makeshift desk in the lounge and it was shaping up to be a long night. No better time than now to try and find out what was going on with this girl, how he could help. The girl froze for a moment, gritting her teeth, then she turned with a polite smile so forced it looked like it might shatter.

“What else can I get for you, sir?” she asked and Tai smiled softly.

“What’s your name, kid?” he asked and a frown flickered across the girl’s face, followed just as quickly by a nervous glance towards the Madam, who was deep in conversation with another guest. 

“What else can I get for you, sir?” she asked again and Tai sighed, extending a hand. 

“I’m Tai,” he said softly, “What’s your name?” The girl regarded his hand for a long moment, as though afraid it would bite her, then she slowly extended her own hand and took his with a grip so strong it belayed her frail figure. 

“Cinder,” she whispered, then snapped her hand back to her side, forcing her smile to come back. “What else can I get for you?” Tai sighed again, picking up his coffee and taking a sip. It was bitter and lukewarm, but that was hardly a problem. Summer’s coffee was gods awful, this was a luxury by comparison. 

“Nothing. Everything’s perfect,” he said and the girl, Cinder, nodded in satisfaction before drifting away to the next customer. He watched her for a while as she worked, her motions just as forced as her smile had been, then his gaze drifted to the Madam. He certainly didn’t have any idea what the situation was between them, but judging from the nervous reactions, the fear, the flinching, it was nothing good. One way or another, he had to get Cinder away from this place. 

It hadn’t been easy to get Cinder away from the Madam and the hotel. It certainly hadn’t been as simple as Tai had wanted it to be, just a stroll to the local military establishment and a few quick words to reveal what he had come to believe was child abuse. Instead, Tai had gone all the way up the chain to Ironwood, forced by the bureaucratic hand of Atlas. Ironwood had nearly dismissed him entirely until he saw that Tai had done what he did best, and assembled a thorough report, complete with graphs and a venn diagram to drive home his point. He’d even interviewed a local black market Dust salesman, just to confirm that the necklace Cinder wore was not nearly the fancy jewelry it appeared. Ironwood had relented and had sent a handful of soldiers to storm the place. The evidence they found wasn’t damning, the Madam was smarter than that, but it was enough to get Cinder out of her clutches. 

Arranging the adoption had taken a lot more finagling, and Tai had wound up as a foster parent rather than a father in full. That was fine by him, of course, at least Cinder would be safe from someone like the Madam. 

The airship ride back to Vale was quiet as Cinder glared out the window at the ocean, as though furious that it existed at all. She scratched idly at the scarf she wore and the horrible scar that ringed her neck beneath it. It had been the gift of that scarf, more so than anything else, that had convinced her to come with Tai rather than just running off. Tai had tried, unsuccessfully, to get her to talk with him. It wasn’t until the ferry trip to Patch that she had spoken at all.

“So,” Tai said, leaning on the railing next to Cinder, who was still glowering at everything that moved, “You know how to fight.”

“I’m a Huntress,” she snapped, then immediately recoiled at her own anger. She stepped back, almost bowing and mumbled, “S-sorry, sir, I-I didn’t mean to-”

Tai laughed softly, cutting her off with a gentle shake of his head, saying, “No worries.” Cinder’s face contorted with confusion as she heard that, years of discipling battling with the alien newness of her situation. “So where’d you learn?” 

Cinder furrowed her brow in thought for a moment, considering Tai like he was a puzzle that needed to be solved. After a long moment, she let out a small huff of disappointment and leaned on the railing next to him, a distance away. “A Huntsman taught me. He was going to get me into the Huntsman exam in a few years.” 

“Really? Which Huntsman?”

“He called himself Rhodes,” Cinder muttered and Tai’s face fell. Even though Cinder wasn’t looking at him, she saw his expression shift and she narrowed her eyes at the sight of it. “What? Do you know him?”

“I know of him,” Tai said, his voice nearly a growl, “He gives Huntsmen a bad name.” 

“No he doesn’t,” Cinder said, indignation flooding into her voice, “He was teaching me to fight, he was going to get me out of there. But then you had to come along and ruin everything!” Her voice rose up to a shout, a fever pitch, but Tai only nodded ruefully, a sudden exhaustion covering his heart.

“But he didn’t get you out of there,” he muttered and Cinder’s anger broke, the cracks filled in with doubt and fear.”  
“What?” 

“Rhodes taught you to fight, he said he was going to get you out of there,” Tai murmured, “I believe that part. But I can’t figure out why he would let you stay there. He must’ve known something was going on. He’s scum, but he’s not heartless.” Cinder took a step away, gaze flitting between Tai and the ocean, her motions sharp and jagged. Tai smiled softly at her, taking the same gentle tone he did when he had to talk Yang into letting him cut her hair. “You don’t have to stay with me, not forever. Just long enough to get your feet on the ground. I’ll keep teaching you to be a Huntress, if you want.”

Cinder’s gaze flicked up to meet his for a moment, fear and distrust deep in her gaze like they were rooted there, then she looked away towards the island of Patch. “Fine,” she grumbled after a long moment. She was silent for a while, then glanced back at him and mumbled, “I don’t have to clean for you, do I?”

Tai laughed and shook his head ruefully, saying, “No, gods no. You can make as big a mess as you like in your room. Summer and I keep the place clean, gods know we have enough practice.”

“Summer?”

“My wife,” Tai said with a surge of pride and love at the thought of her, “Second wife, actually, but that’s not important. And I have two kids, Yang and Ruby. They’re younger than you by a good few years, but they both wanna be Huntresses. Maybe y’all can learn together.” He looked over at Cinder to find her staring at the ocean again, but her gaze was much less hostile now. 

“I only have to stay for a little while,” she murmured and Tai nodded, knowing that she saw it from the way her gaze flickered to him for a split second.

“Just for a little while.” 

Tai laughed as he was nearly bowled over when he stepped into the house, a golden haired blur leaping up and slamming into his chest, hugging tight to him as he stepped inside. 

“Dad!” Yang squealed, burying her face into his chest.

“Hey there, sunflower,” he murmured, placing a small kiss on her forehead, making Yang giggle softly. “Your mom around?” 

“Uhuh!” Yang said, leaning back to grin up at him, lilac eyes shining with a fierce intelligence, even at just three years old. “She’s ou’ back with Ruby!” 

Tai set her down, even as she whined, and knelt next to her, stroking her hair behind her ear. “You mind going to get her? We have something to talk about.” Yang nodded a toothy, happy smile, and dashed towards the front door with such reckless abandon that Tai almost dove after her. He smiled softly as she vanished towards the back of the house, then looked over his shoulder. “You can come in now,” he called out and the door opened fully, revealing Cinder behind him. Tai stood and gestured broadly at the house, the kitchen off to the right and the dining room beyond it, the living room with its giant TV, and the stairs that led up to everyone’s rooms. “This is where you’ll be staying for a while,” he said, then added, “This is home.” 

Cinder took the place in, looking far more weathered by years than she should have at eleven years old. “Home,” she scoffed and Tai winced. He opened his mouth to say something before Yang came bounding back around the corner, shrieking,

“Dad’s home, I told you!” She leapt back into Tai’s arms and he lifted her up, the golden haired girl shrieking with laughter. He leaned towards her and the two nuzzled noses like they always did, then he turned and let out a sigh of relief as he saw Summer. Summer was smiling broadly, a sleeping Ruby in her arms, and Tai noticed that she wasn’t looking at him, but beyond him. He turned to see that Cinder was frozen in the doorway, hand clenched into a fist and her eyes snapping between the four people before her.

“I’m Summer,” Summer said softly, then gestured at Ruby, “This is Ruby. That’s Yang.” Yang squirmed around in Tai’s arms until she could see Cinder and waved both arms frantically, as though there was any way to miss her.

“I’m four!” she shouted with a toothy grin and Tai rolled his eyes.

“You’re three,” he chided and Yang settled back into his arms with a faux pout. She might’ve said something else but then Summer interjected,

“Tai, do you mind taking Ruby? We should get Cinder moved in.” With a small grunt of effort Tai took Ruby as well, her silver eyes fluttering open as she was moved. Summer stepped passed them, after giving Yang a kiss on the cheek, and gestured towards Cinder. “C’mon then, let me show you your room.”

“It’s fine, ma’am,” Cinder said through gritted teeth, “I don’t have a bag. If you just tell me where it is, I can find my room on my own.”

“Summer, please,” Summer said softly, kneeling in front of Cinder with that same warm and welcoming smile that had drawn Tai to her all those years ago. “And I don’t mind if you find it on your own. If you’re staying here, you should be comfortable. If doing this on your own helps, then that’s what we’ll do.”

Cinder gasped and took a step back, her eyes flying open in shock. She looked like she didn’t know what to say, like she had forgotten how to speak, and Summer’s smile grew softer still.

“It’s just up the stairs and to the left, second door on the left, passed the bathroom,” she murmured, and Cinder let out a choked sound, like she was struggling to breathe. Summer’s gaze grew concerned as she heard it and she tentatively reached out a hand towards Cinder. Cinder stared at her, as though in awe, then finally managed to say,

“Could you show me?” Summer’s smile returned as she stood, gesturing for Cinder to follow. The two made their way up the stairs, and all that Tai could do was smile. Summer had that way with people, making them feel at ease. It was what made her a great leader, a great Huntress, and a great mother. 

“Is she stayin’ with us forever?” Yang asked and Tai shrugged as best he could while holding two children.

“For a little while, anyway,” he said and Yang nodded slowly, as though convinced of something.

“Forever,” she said and Tai laughed, gently placing her down. Yang trundled off towards the living room and her ever present stack of paper and crayons, and Tai smiled again. Maybe Cinder would be here forever, maybe she wouldn’t. If he and his family could provide a home for her, even if just for a little while, he would think this whole thing a success. 

In the year that had passed, Cinder had settled in on Patch nicely. She had been hesitant at first, slow to trust and slower to accept that nobody was going to hurt her. It had taken time and effort from all of them, really, to get Cinder acclimated to her new home, but now she was a regular part of the family. Yang was proud of herself for not barging into Cinder’s room in the morning anymore, which had made Cinder leap out of bed and start looking around wildly. Even though she was four, officially now, Yang wasn’t stupid. She could tell when Cinder was upset, and so she had done her best to do anything that would stop her from being upset. She had started being quieter whenever Cinder would start to get that twitch in her foot from being over...sti...simul...whatever dad had called it. No loud noises for too long or too much playtime, that was all that Yang knew. It hurt a bit when Cinder locked Yang and Ruby out of her room or headed into the woods for a while, but she was always so much happier when she came back that Yang couldn’t be mad for long. After all she was a part of the family, not really a new sister like Yang had thought originally, but still part of the family nonetheless. She ate dinner with them, helped Yang get ready for pre-k in the morning, did chores with them, even sat and listened with a patient smile on her face when Yang and Ruby started telling the stories they made up in the imaginations. All of them focused on the three of them being Huntresses and saving the world, Ruby, Yang, and Cinder, the unstoppable trio from Patch. It was those moments, Yang knew, that made Cinder happy. 

But what made Cinder happiest of all was training to be a Huntress with Tai. She had come into the family knowing how to fight and she had learned far more since arriving on Patch. Yang liked to watch from the sidelines, chubby arms waving wildly as she cheered Cinder on. In between lessons, Cinder would sit down next to her and explain what she had learned and Yang would drink it in eagerly, storing it away for when she started training.

Cinder only ever trained with Tai. She had asked Summer to train her once, which had made Summer laugh and tell her that she would teach her once she had weapons. Yang had never seen Cinder run so fast, off towards town to start building her swords. 

They were immaculate, a pair of curved blades with a name that Yang couldn't pronounce which could snap together at the hilt to form a bow. They were by far the coolest thing she had ever seen, though Ruby was unimpressed. She told them, in her babbling toddler speak, that it would be much better if it were a gun. Cinder laughed and ruffled Ruby's hair, telling her that she could make her weapon whatever she liked.

It was the name that stuck out most to Yang. All weapons had names, after all, but Cinder struggled with hers for weeks. She toyed with Midnight for a long while, tossing it back and forth as easily as she did her swords, but eventually put the idea away. 

Yang found her sitting outside, idly cleaning her swords one evening, smiling to herself in satisfaction.

"You named 'em?" Yang asked, almost reverently, and Cinder nodded slowly. She stood and flipped the swords onto her shoulders with a flourish, smirking as Yang stared at her in awe. "What's their name?"

Cinder's smile grew soft as she saw Yang's awe and amazement. "Dawn," Cinder said quietly, "I think I'll call them Dawn."

Cinder never left the house without Dawn after that. She walked around town with her weapons proudly after that, showing them off to anyone who asked. She might have started sleeping with them, if a stern gaze from Tai hadn't stopped that in its tracks. If there had been Grimm around then Cinder might even have started to go hunting, but that certainly would’ve been disapproved of. Tai and Summer didn’t put very strict rules on their children, but reckless endangerment was still a big ‘no’ from both of them. Even as skilled as she was, and Tai said that she was very skilled, Cinder was still just a kid.

She thought that she might have hated being called a kid, but Cinder found that she didn’t. There was something nice about it when Tai or Summer said it, with none of the horrible cruelty that usually came with it, none of the judgement. She could be whoever she wanted to be out here, on Patch, and that included being a kid. Sometimes she would spend hours with Yang, talking about the drawings she made of Grimm and the family, even a handful of yellow blobs on sticks that Yang was especially proud of.

“They’re gonna be my weapons,” Yang said with a happy smile as she showed Cinder, “I’m gonna be a Huntress like you and mom and fight Grimm.” 

“You, me, and Ruby, huh?” Cinder asked with a soft laugh, trying to figure out what exactly Yang had drawn. Yang nodded firmly and said,

“And mom. She’s gonna be our team leader.” Cinder had laughed at that, almost overwhelmingly amused by the idea of Summer leading their ragtag team of Huntresses. Summer was an independent Huntress these days, she had said, with Tai too busy teaching at Signal and the other two members of team STRQ, Raven, Yang’s mother, and Qrow off doing their own things. Summer’s missions were secret and kept close to her chest and she had a habit of being gone for months.

Still, every time she came home, everyone was happy. Yang would bolt to the door and leap into her mom’s arms, followed by a tottering Ruby who was just staring to learn to run. Tai would follow, taking their children from his exhausted wife and greeting her with a small kiss on the cheek. Cinder would stay where she was, usually at the dinner table or in the living room, and wave with a small smile. She still didn’t feel like she’d earned the kind of physical affection the rest of the family shared, no matter how many times Tai and Summer said she had or how often she gave Yang and Ruby piggyback rides. 

But then one evening Summer didn’t come home. A random Huntsman had shown up instead, a grim look on his face. Cinder had realized what that meant only moments after Tai had and she had quickly gathered up Yang and Ruby, whisking them away upstairs. Yang protested, trying to tug them back down to the door, but Cinder’s grip was iron and she refused to let her go.

“But Cinder!” Yang protested, digging in her heels as she was dragged down the hallway, “Mom’s gonna be back today, I wanna see her!” Cinder had flung the door to her room open and pulled the children inside, slamming it closed behind them. “Cinder, c’mon,” Yang pouted, plopping down on the floor with her pudgy arms folded across her chest, “I wanna see-”

She was cut off by a gasp as Cinder wrapped her up in a hug. The move surprised Cinder as much as Yang, and even Ruby who seemed to understand in her small, childlike way. Cinder couldn’t help the tears that had started to fall, even as Yang had tried to wipe them away, imitating what she had seen Summer do a thousand times before. 

They had stayed there, in a horrible silence, until the door creaked open. Cinder looked around with tearstained eyes, Yang looked up in confusion, and Ruby cocked her head to the side in wonder as Tai stumbled inside, collapsing onto the floor. It took him a long moment to speak, everyone staring in stunned silence. “Girls,” he rasped out after a long while, “Y-your mother, Summer,” his gaze flickered between each of them, the awful realization dawning on Yang even as she started to shake her head in disbelief, “She’s not coming home. Something happened while she was out on a missing and…” Tai’s voice broke and he cut himself off with a sob, then pushed through, “She’s gone. Summer’s gone.” 

The room stayed silent for a long moment, then Ruby had started to wail. Yang had collapsed to the ground, curling up into a ball, sobbing into her hands even as Tai slumped against the wall, tears streaming down her face. Cinder had sat there, sadness choking even her tears as she grappled with that information. Summer was  _ gone _ .

Days later, they still cried, from time to time. Yang waited patiently by the door, shifting foot to foot, hoping against hope that her mother would walk back inside. Ruby almost refused to eat, and it was only through gentle coaxing from Yang and Cinder that she ate anything at all. Cinder found herself thrust into a position of authority that she had never wanted or dreamed of having, suddenly in charge of cooking, cleaning, looking after the house and the family. It was like being back in Atlas or Mistral, but this time...this time she cared about the people she was looking after. She worked hard, tirelessly, her neck burning as she did so, but she never stopped. The family needed her. Tai had shut down, Ruby was just a child, and Yang...gods, Yang...it was like she had grown up overnight. Suddenly instead of hte vibrant, cheerful young girl that Cinder had grown fond of, there was a weighted exhaustion. Yang helped out where she could, cleaning and working just as hard as Cinder, no matter what she said to stop her. It was like she had decided to take on the world at four and a half. It broke Cinder’s heart.

And so it went, for five years.

Things had gotten better, slowly. Tai had returned to them, never fully himself again but partly so. He would get up slowly, get his children off to school, and go to work, day in and day out. It was better than when he had done nothing but sit on the couch, staring at nothing. It was better than Qrow, who lived more in a bottle than the ratty apartment he owned in Vale. 

Cinder and Yang had taken on the brunt of the family duties, raising Ruby as best they could. Even now, with all the sorrow and trauma of losing their mother, Cinder couldn't help but be proud of the two of them. Yang and Ruby were still strong, still brave, still innocent, at least in Ruby’s case. Some days it seemed like Yang’s innocence had died with Summer. She was so much older than nine in some ways, and still a child in so many others. 

Still, they grew. It was Cinder who had started teaching Yang and Ruby to fight, how to track Grimm like Tai had taught her. It was Cinder who had taught Yang how to cook. It was Cinder who had taught them about friendships and self discipline, even while learning it all on the fly. It was Cinder who had taught Yang and Ruby to swear, much to Tai’s chagrin. ‘Shit’ was still Yang’s favorite word. 

It was almost a shame when Cinder got her acceptance letter to Atlas Academy. Tai had tried to convince her to go to Beacon, but she had refused. She had to go back to Atlas, for herself if no one else. She didn’t know why, and had denied ever wanting to find Rhodes or that...that  _ bitch _ who had imprisoned her. There was no reason to find them now, she had grown beyond them both. Beacon hadn’t felt right, despite her graduating with top marks from Signal, but there was something about Atlas Academy that Cinder craved. Maybe it was the prestige, maybe it was the idea of sticking it to the Atlas pricks by outperforming all of them. Yeah, that sounded right. For all of Tai’s careful instruction and Cinder’s own personal growth, she was still petty. She was adult enough to admit it. 

Yang had wrapped her up in a hug so tight that Cinder swore she could see her Aura flickering, and Ruby’s hug had nearly shattered it completely. They were much more liberal with their hugs now, ever since Cinder had started hugging them first. The hugs had started off standoffish and awkward, one armed affairs that Cinder cringed at now, but these days she hugged the family proudly and passionately. 

“Have fun in Atlas!” Ruby squealed and Cinder laughed, ruffling her hair softly and making the girl grumble.

“I will. I’ll call home once a week, okay?” She had promised, after all, and had even set up a reminder on her scroll to do so. 

“You’re gonna do great,” Tai said firmly, as though he knew it as a fact, and Cinder had rolled her eyes playfully.

“Only thanks to you,” she said, deflecting the compliment back at him and Tai snorted with laughter. He scooped Ruby up in one arm and placed her on his shoulder, heading towards the edge of the airfield so they could watch the airships fly away. Then it was just Cinder and Yang, and Cinder gasped softly as she felt Yang take her hands. She felt her heart shatter as she saw the look on Yang’s face, the horrible pain within and the terrible loneliness beyond it.

“You’re gonna come back, right?” Yang whispered and Cinder choked back a sob, wrapping Yang up in a hug. Yang clung to her tightly, burying her face into her chest, her tears wetting her black shirt. 

“Of course I am,” Cinder murmured, trying to reassure Yang. She said nothing else, no more promises. It would sound too much like Summer. So instead she leaned back with a watery laugh and said, “Somebody has to cut your hair.” Yang whined indignantly, clutching her hair with both hands as though to protect it. Cinder knelt next to her, kind yellow eyes staring into tearstained lilac. “I’ll be back for winter break in three months.”

“Three months,” Yang echoed, “You better be.” They hugged once more, then Cinder took Yang’s hand gently and walked her over to Tai, passing her off before finding her airship. She waved as the airship took off, pumping her arm like Ruby did when she said goodbye, and then the airstrip was covered in fog and cloud. Cinder sighed and found her seat. It was going to be a long three months.

Cinder had expected plenty of things from her time in Atlas, strict discipline, hard classes, tough learning curves, but her partner had nearly thrown her for a loop so bad she flunked out. Upon learning that her partner was none other than the so-called venerable Winter Schnee, Cinder had almost laughed aloud. Maybe she could get some enjoyment out of their sparring sessions, she mused, she certainly wasn’t going to get anything out of their friendship.

“And then we made like hay and  _ bailed _ ,” Cinder groaned, slumped onto the dining room table back in Patch, Yang gently patting her shoulder. She almost groaned again from the pun, having picked up Yang’s favorite kind of joke even in the two weeks she’d been home. “I’m never gonna find anything to connect with this woman about, I swear to the fucking gods.” 

She felt Yang’s gentle smile before she turned to see it, and Yang said, “You wanna go feed the goats? Goats are relaxing.” 

Cinder groaned again.

“Then she asked me if I wanted to go feed the chickens!” Yang’s voice came through Cinder’s scroll slightly tinny, but her exasperation was clear, “Like, I love Rubes but that’s not helping.”

“You said the exact same thing to me when I complained about Winter,” Cinder drawled and Yang let out an indignant noise before grumbling,

“I was nine, shut up. Besides, you two only dated for, like, a week.” Now it was Cinder’s turn to be indignant, and she almost shot upright in bed, were it not for the arms of her partner around her. Her friendship with Winter was still intact, and Cinder was proud of that fact, but any romantic feelings had fallen by the wayside. Winter was still too rigid for Cinder and Cinder was, as Winter had said, ‘too country’. Things had ended amicably enough, even though Winter had refused to speak to her for two months, but that was in the past. Now, years later, Cinder was glad to have found a woman she truly loved. She glanced over at Emerald, who was curled up against her, fast a sleep, her snores rocking the bed. The momentary flood of love she felt for her partner was almost too much, but Cinder couldn’t let the insult to her love life stand.

“A w-We dated for a year and a half,” she hissed as loudly as she dared, “A week, my fucking ass it lasted a week.” 

“Still pretty short.”

“You’ve never even had a girlfriend.”

“Yeah, but I want to!” Yang garoned and Cinder could hear the sound of her flopping into bed, “I just...I...Blake…” She let out a sigh as words failed her and Cinder took her chance when she saw it.

“Do you  _ love _ her?” she teased, a devious smile spreading across her face.

“Yeah,” Yang said softly, “I think I do.” 

Cinder balked. She had expected another groan or a half cocked joke, but not that. Yang, who had spent her entire childhood with her emotions tucked tightly to her chest, was opening up about a girl that she had fallen for, hard. Cinder knew what that was like, of course, she’d spent more time than she wanted to admit pining over Winter at Atlas and over Emerald after they met in the streets of Mistral. “You do?” she murmured and could picture Yang’s earnest nod.

“Yeah.” 

“Tell her.”

“Wh-what?” Yang said, aghast, “I can’t just tell her, what if she doesn't feel the same way? What if she never talks to me again? What am I gonna do then?” 

“Yang, I know it’s scary,” Cinder said slowly, “But you have to say something to her. It’ll just tear you up inside if you don’t. It already is, I know you’re skipping class to talk to me right now.” 

“I’m not-” Yang tried to protest, then sighed heavily. “Don’t tell dad?”

“Not a word.” 

“Can I come hunting with you? That might distract me.”

“Wait until you and Ruby graduate,” Cinder chided and Yang huffed in disappointment. 

There was a long moment of silence, then Yang grumbled, “Why can I fight Ursa like it’s nothing but then when I’ve gotta talk to Blake it’s the scariest thing I’ve ever done?” 

Cinder sighed and glanced back at Emerald, who had tucked herself in against her tighter. “Love it weird like that, Yang. Trust me.” 

“I...okay,” Yang said after a long moment. “I’ll try. Thanks sis.” 

“No problem, Yang,” Cinder said softly, then her tone switched to the stern one that she had perfected while raising Yang and Ruby. “Now go to class.” Yang groaned again and hung up, making Cinder laugh. She tucked her scroll away on the bedside table before rolling over and snuggling up to Emerald. Love was weird, but it was also good, and kind, and gentle. Love, Cinder had learned, was never cruel. She had Tai, Yang, Ruby, and S-Summer to thank for that.

Years had passed, three of them, in fact, and the world had changed. Beacon had fallen, crushed by some assassin and a hacker, throwing the world in chaos. Yang had lost an arm. Ruby had left home with her friends to head to Haven. Cinder had barely made it in time to help them both when team RWBY and their friends finally reunited. It was a strange thing, a terrible way to reunite, but it made Cinder happy to see Yang and Ruby happy.

Now, after Beacon and Haven, Atlas and Vacuo, they finally stood before their final foe, the great enemy: Salem. Ruby and Yang had filled Cinder in about her past, the way that she couldn’t be destroyed. But even then, she could be fought. Ruby’s broadcast had been right, she wouldn’t have stayed in the shadows as long as she had if she had nothing to fear.

So here they stood, Cinder, Emerald, Ruby, Yang, Blake, Weiss, team JNPR, and all the others they had gathered, staring down Salem and her chosen pawns. 

Cinder felt her eyes on her, the imperious gaze of a conquering queen, and she glared right back. “You,” Salem said, gesturing at Cinder, “You could’ve been so much more, so powerful. But instead, you choose this.” She gestured at the assembled heroes. “You chose Ozpin’s side, and now...now, you and your friends are going to die.”

“Not friends,” Cinder hissed, slipping into a fighting stance. She saw Yang ready her fists, heard Ruby chambering a round in Crescent Rose, and Cinder spat the word that she knew was true, that had always been true, “Family.” 

Then the fight was on. Cinder fought as hard as she could, her sisters by her side, her lover aiding from the rear, their friends-their family-charging in with them. Maybe they would die, Cinder mused even as the fight began in earnest, maybe they would live.

It didn’t much matter to her now. After all these years, she finally had her family by her side. Cinder was finally home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Saw this idea passed around on Tumblr, specifically started by tumblezwei, and it wouldn't leave me alone, so here we are! I love it.  
> This is unofficially titled 'Taiyang 'Is anyone gonna adopt this child?' Xiao Long'.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!  
> Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacubesilvora  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakobretheKitty


	31. Tattooed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Late in the evening, just before closing time, Goldie's Tattoos receives an unexpected visitor.

An electric bell chimed, more of a buzzing whine really, as the door swung open. Lilac eyes glanced up lazily taking in the woman who came inside. She walked with all the assurance of someone who had thought that this was a much better idea a few minutes ago. As long as she bought a tattoo, it didn’t matter; money was money after all. As long as she paid, Yang didn’t much care why she was there. Her cigarette lolled around in her mouth as she passed it from side to side with her tongue, idly tucking her hair up in a bun as she watched the woman take the place in.

_Goldie’s_ _Tattoos_ had been in Yang’s name for the past five years and she spent most of that time fighting to keep it open. The city was changing, with an influx of folk from the country rushing to get rich quick in the stock market or some shit. That was what her customers talked about anyway, at least the rich looking ones. Yang didn’t pay much attention to them other than the design they wanted and if they were comfortable. She ran a tight ship here, and that kept the money coming in. It was a difficult balancing act, but she managed as best she could. The whole place was covered in posters of various metal bands or neon signs that she’d picked up for cheap from a flea market to cover up the drywall. The only part of the decorating that was really hers was the room in back, with the chair and all her tools. The walls were covered in a stylized mural, stretching across the entire room. On one side of the door was a series of rolling hills that led to a small house, and from there a town, until finally it merged and changed into a city where the mural met the door once more. That had been a long four weeks of work, but she’d had her sister out to help paint it, so Yang couldn’t complain. 

She could see the woman taking in the place, with all its decorations and the hint of the mural over Yang’s shoulder, amber eyes raking across the walls while one of her cat ears, the one with the tip missing, flicked curiously. Yang said nothing, only watched and rolled her cigarette back and forth in her mouth. Newcomers always needed a moment to take the place in, it was a lot even for some of her regulars. 

Eventually the woman realized that Yang was there and met her eye, gently resting her thumbs in her pockets. “You Goldie?” she asked and Yang nodded.

“Sure am. You here for a tattoo or just to look around?” The woman pursed her lips in thought for a moment, her eye flicking to the open book of design ideas that Yang kept on the counter. After a moment she set her lips in a thin line as though determining something and said,

“A tattoo. I’ve already got an idea sketched out, if that works for you.”

“Fine by me,” Yang said with a shrug, holding out her hand, “Lemme see it.” The woman fished around in her pocket for a moment before pulling out a folded piece of paper and handing it over. Yang flipped it open and took a long look, mentally tallying how long it would take to do the tattoo and comparing it to how long she was willing to stay open. It was already late, and today had been slow in that special way where it was exhausting. The design was a flower, stylized almost as though it were reaching for the sky, and drawn with a practiced hand. This woman clearly had some skill on her side, judging by the easy strokes that made up the flower. The word ‘Color?’ was next to it, and Yang raised an eyebrow curiously. “Where do you want it?” she asked and looked up as she heard the woman shuffling around.

She pulled down her t-shirt, exposing her shoulder and back, gesturing vaguely in that area. “Somewhere up there. I need to be able to keep it hidden. It’s work stuff.” 

“Work stuff,” Yang muttered, glancing at the golden dragon tattoo sleeve on her left arm, “Gotcha.” It was hardly the only tattoo she had, her entire body was covered in them to some degree, even a small raven hidden beneath her hair, but it was the most visible in her tank top. Her right arm sported a similar sleeve, decorated with roses. She probably looked like this woman’s worst nightmare from the way she was fidgeting. Yang sighed with a nod and pushed herself off the counter, jerking her head towards the back room. “C’mon, let’s get started.” 

The woman followed her into the back room, laying down on the chair when Yang instructed her to. She slipped off her shirt and one bra strap, revealing the skin beneath, and Yang paused, trying not to gasp as she saw the network of scars, almost a spiderweb spreading across the woman’s back. She held back her shock and set to work, slipping her cigarette behind her ear. The woman let out a long breath, her shoulder stiffening every time Yang touched it, so much so that Yang had to lean back and murmur,

“Loosen up a bit. It’ll hurt more if you stay tense.” The woman tensed up once more, then, with a physical effort, let the tension flow out of her body. Yang nodded with satisfaction and went back to work, murmuring, “Good.” As she said it, she thought the woman shuddered, but it was so subtle that it could very well have just been a part of her natural motions. She worked in silence for a while, glancing at the sketch every so often, until the silence got to be too much and she had to say something. “What kinda flower is that?”

“Deadly nightshade,” the woman said automatically and Yang nodded slowly.

“Any reason?”

“What?”

“Any reason you want it?” Yang asked and the woman huffed softly. “S’okay,” Yang said with a shrug, “You don’t have to tell me.”

“Thanks,” the woman murmured and Yang nodded in understanding. Not everyone had a reason for their tattoos, some people thought they made them look tough or cool, but by the same token not every reason needed to be shared. Some were just too personal, held too close, too deep to explain to a stranger, or maybe anyone at all. Some reasons were so personal there was no point even trying to explain them. “What about you?” she asked and Yang looked up in surprise, finding the woman had turned her head to look at her out of the corner of her eye. “You must have a reason.”

Yang laughed softly, stretching out her arm and twisting it so the woman could see the whole dragon sleeve. “Yeah, I do. I got a reason for every one of my tattoos. This sleeve is for me and my dad. Took me five years to design it, and nine months to get it done fully.” 

“Damn,” the woman breathed out and Yang nodded slowly.

“Yeah. My other sleeve is for my mom and sister,” she reached over with her right arm to show the woman her rose sleeve. “That one took a lot longer to design.” The woman frowned slightly, as though hearing the edge of hurt that Yang tried to keep from her voice, and nodded. “Got most of my back done over the past ten years, and my chest.” Yang laughed softly with a rueful shake of her head. “Filled out my legs first, can you believe that shit? Course I had to hide them back then, work stuff.” 

“Aren’t the legs some of the worst places to get a tattoo?” the woman asked.

“Yep,” Yang said, popping the ‘p’, “So if it wasn’t bad enough I was hiding the tattoos, I was hiding a limp too.”

“You were limping?”

“After I got my knees done, sure,” Yang said with a shrug, “Those fucking suck, cause it’s right on the bone.” The woman grimaced and Yang hid one of her own at the memory. She was glad to have gotten her tattoos, and equally glad to never have to get them done again. 

“Have you ever regretted any?” the woman asked and Yang froze midway to grabbing her tools to start the woman’s tattoo. Pain flared up on her scalp and left wrist, the raven and feather that she kept there burning with foolish intent.

“Let’s get started on your tattoo, okay?” Yang asked softly and the woman nodded again, a soft understanding in her eyes. Yang was glad that she didn’t pursue the question any further, grabbing the rest of her tools and saying, “I’m just going to do the outline you have here, if you want color we can do it a different day.” 

“Okay,” the woman said, forcing herself to be relaxed. “I’ll try not to flinch.”

“Don’t worry, if you start squirming I’ll just pin you down,” Yang teased lightly, and that time she was certain that the woman shuddered, a small blush appearing on her cheeks. Yang considered pursuing that, maybe trying to get the woman’s number after the tattoo was done, but pushed the thoughts aside. She was still at work, there was no time for that. “Okay,” she said, leaning over the woman and preparing to work. “I’m gonna start in three...two...one.” As she began to work on tattooing the woman, following the design she had sketched out on her shoulder as a guide, the woman grit her teeth but stayed relaxed. Yang had to admit she was impressed, most people’s first tattoos were full of tears and surprised yelps, but this woman stayed perfectly still. “You’re doing great,” Yang murmured, the reassurance slipping out easier for this woman than a thousand customers before her. The woman nodded as best she could while keeping herself relaxed and still, and Yang set to work in earnest.

Soon her tattoo was done and Yang had dressed it, currently walking her through the steps to making sure it was clean and well taken care of. The woman nodded curtly with each instruction, writing them in a notebook without even looking down at the page. 

“If you’ve got someone to help you with it, it's easiest,” Yang concluded, running a hand through her hair, “Especially for tattoos on your back. Trust me.” She turned halfway, showing the massive series of tattoos that ran down her back, or at least as much as could be seen with her shirt still on. Only a small, curling dragon on her upper back, the head of a flying crow from her right shoulder, and the uppermost petals of a white and red rose were showing, but it was enough to get her point across. 

“I’ve got somebody. She’s had a few done, so she knows what to do,” the woman said, “She’s been in here a few times, actually, brown hair, grey eyes, freckles?”

Yang pursed her lips in thought, unlit cigarette back in her mouth. After a moment she said, “I think I remember her. Heart with a whip around it on her lower abdomen, right?” 

“That’s her.”

“She’s a good customer,” Yang said, then snorted with laughter, “Shrieked like a bitch the first time I gave her a tattoo though.” 

“Yeah, that sounds like her,” the woman said dryly and Yang felt a small rush of relief that her comment hadn't been seen as insulting. The woman paid and turned to leave, hanging in the doorway for a moment before turning back and saying, “When can I come back in for coloring?” 

“Six months, if you really wanna play it safe,” Yang said, “But if you need another tattoo in a different spot, give it two to three weeks on the first one. See how you like it.”

“I already do,” the woman murmured, absentmindedly reaching towards her shoulder before thinking better of it. “Maybe I’ll see you again.” Yang felt a strange thrill run through her body at that, but managed to keep it hidden with a shrug, saying,

“Maybe. Have a good one.”

“You too,” the woman said, then headed out the door and vanished. Yang stared wistfully after her for a few moments, then shook her head in exasperation. So what that she was pretty, she was just a customer. Yang didn't have time for that kinda thing in her day to day, she was busy enough as it was. So she kept herself busy, cleaning up her tools and closing up shop. As she lay down to sleep she buried her head beneath a pillow, trying to drown out the burning on her scalp and wrist.

A month and a half later, Yang looked up from her phone once again to find the same woman walking in, near closing time just like before. “Hey, Nightshade,” Yang said and the woman quirked a brow at her in a silent question. “I dunno your name, figure I gotta call you something.” After a long moment of consideration, the woman shrugged.

“Nightshade works for me.”

Yang smiled, tucking her cigarette back behind her ear. “So what can I do for you today? You need a new tattoo or was something wrong with the one I gave you?”

“A new one,” Nightshade said with a shrug, “The first one is perfect.”

“Obviously,” Yang said with a cocky smile and Nightshade rolled her eyes, a small smile playing at her lips. “Whaddya need this time?” 

“This,” Nightshade said, pulling out another folded up piece of paper. “I want it on my hip.” Yang opened the paper, this time seeing a sun coming over a rising wave. 

As Yang furrowed her brow, calculating the time it would take once more, she murmured, “You know that it’s more painful on the hip, right?”

“I know.”

“Are you sure you want it there?”

“I’m sure.”

“Okay,” Yang said, jerking her head at the back room, “Then let’s get started.” Once again Nightshade lay on the chair and peeled back her clothes so that Yang could get to the skin she needed to work with, and once again, Yang held back a gasp from the scars she saw. It was like every square inch of Blake’s body had some kind of mark, some damage that had healed over. This time the tattoo would go directly over some of the scars, a curved ‘c’ on her right hip. “Might need to do this one slow,” Yang murmured, “Just cause of the scar.”  
“Okay,” Nightshade said, one finger idly tracing the scar as she glanced down at it, “I have all night. If I need to come back to finish it, I can.”  
“I can do it tonight,” Yang said with a reassuring smile, “I don’t mind staying late.” Nightshade frowned and Yang laughed softly, gesturing at the ceiling. “I live up above, so it’s no problem, really.” 

After a moment of consideration, Nightshade nodded slowly. Yang got to work preparing the tattoo in silence, going much faster now that they were both familiar with the process. Soon they were underway and Yang was careful to be mindful of how Nightshade reacted to each movement. 

As the needle approached her scar, Nightshade flinched slightly, then let out a long, low breath and forced herself to relax again. Yang laughed softly and murmured, “Good girl,” before continuing. She was pleased to glance up and see a bright red blush spread across Nightshade’s face, matched with a flustered smile as she suddenly found the mural to be very interesting. “You don’t mind when I do that, do you?” Yang asked, going back to work, “I have some customers who like me to be totally silent and shit, but others like it when I talk to ‘em while I work.”

“I don’t mind,” Nightshade said and Yang felt her eyes on her as she worked. There was a murmured, “I like it,” then a mumbled curse and for the first time Yang smelled a hint of whiskey on Nightshade’s breath.

“Are you drunk?” she asked, turning off her equipment and leaning back, a serious expression spreading across her face. “I don’t like giving drunk people tattoos, they always regret them.” She knew that from experience on both sides of the coin, but Nightshade only shook her head with a heavy sigh.

“I’m tipsy, but I’m not drunk. I’ve been wanting to get this tattoo for a while anyway,” she said, glancing down at the half finished tattoo. “But I guess I’m drunk enough to say that I like when you call me a good girl.” She flashed Yang a smile and Yang couldn’t help but snort with laughter.

“You sure you want this one now?” she asked softly and Nightshade nodded.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” 

“Okay,” Yang said, leaning back in, only pausing to say, “But don’t come in tipsy again. I just...I’ve been there.” 

“I won’t,” Nightshade said seriously and Yang could hear the truth of it in her voice. 

“All right then,” Yang said, turning on her equipment, then added, “Good girl.” Nightshade flushed red again and laughed and Yang joined in before getting back to work. Soon Nightshade was back in front of the counter, idly flipping through the book of designs while Yang finished up with her payment.

“Who did these?” she asked and Yang looked up, sliding over Nightshade’s card and receipt. 

“I did. Those are all original ones. I figure that if there’s something specific somebody wants, they can show me a picture like you do.” Nightshade nodded, flipping to a new page, this one with a wilting rose and an empty nest.

“You’re a great artist,” she murmured and Yang laughed softly, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly.

“Thanks. I’ve worked hard on it. You’re not bad yourself,” she added and Nightshade rolled her eyes.

“Oh please, I doodle.”  
“I mean it,” Yang protested, gesturing at Nightshade’s design which lay open on the counter. “The ones you’ve shown me are great.” Nightshade opened her mouth to object, then closed it, a soft smile taking the place of her words.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, “It’s been a while since anyone’s complimented me on that. I used to do it all the time but now…” she trailed off meaningfully and Yang smiled sympathetically, feeling a well of empathy for the woman before her rise in her chest.

“Work stuff?” she asked gently and Nightshade scoffed.

“Relationship stuff.”  
“Sounds like a real asshole,” Yang said with a wry grin and Nightshade snorted derisively.

“He was. Glad that I’m not with him anymore.” 

A horrible idea occurred to Yang and the words slipped out before she even had the wherewithal to say them. “Those scars...he didn’t-”

“Not those ones,” Nightshade said, a bitter smile appearing on her face, “Those ones were work stuff. I’ve got other ones from him.” 

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t mean to-”

“I know, Goldie.” 

There was a beat of awkward silence and Yang checked the time, seeing that she was already open an hour later than she usually was. “Well, uh, I gotta close up for the night,” she said and Nightshade nodded, grabbing her card and receipt off the counter. “If you ever need anything else, lemme know.”  
“Will do,” she said, then turned and vanished into the night once more. Yang let out a long, low breath, leaning heavily onto the counter.

“Shit,” she muttered to herself. She knew that she shouldn’t have said anything, and now Nightshade was probably never going to come back. Not that Yang could blame her, of course, she had pried into something that Nightshade clearly wanted to keep secret. Ah well, it had been nice having her around, but people left. People always left. 

Yang sighed and pushed off the counter, eyes raking over the entrance to make sure that she’d cleaned everything up in front, her gaze landing on a different folded up piece of paper on the counter. She picked it up gingerly between her fingers and opened it, a small gasp slipping out between her lips as she did so. 

A phone number was written there, along with an accompanying message: “It’s Blake, by the way.” Yang let out a sigh of relief and collapsed back onto the counter, running her hand through her hair as she read the message again, committing the number to memory.

“Guess I’ll see you later, Blake,” she murmured, then tucked the paper into her shirt before cleaning up the rest of her shop.

  
  


Yang’s phone buzzed as she was wiping down the counter after a day that had been much busier than a Tuesday had any right to be. She checked it, one eyebrow raising in surprise as she saw the number labeled ‘Blake (Nightshade)’ on her screen, with the message, “Hey. You still open?” Yang glanced at the clock, seeing that it was two minutes to closing and sighed, running a hand through her hair.

“Yeah, I’m open. I already told you I’d stay late for you, didn’t I?” she sent back and after a moment her phone buzzed with a new message.

“Thanks. Be there in fifteen minutes. I have a new design I want.” 

Yang shot back a quick, “Okay,” and then set about getting her equipment ready once more. True to her word, Blake walked in fifteen minutes later, the door buzzing as she did so. Yang looked around the door from the back room and waved her in, calling out, “Switch the open sign off, wouldya? It’s right next to the door.” Blake flicked the sign off and then stepped into the back room, already taking out a folded piece of paper. “So,” Yang said, gesturing at the chair, “Another new tattoo already? You trying to look like me?”

Blake scoffed and shook her head, handing Yang the piece of paper. “I don’t think I’ll get quite that many, Goldie.” 

“Yang,” Yang murmured, opening the paper to reveal a bull skull with a knife through it.”

“What?”  
“My name. It’s Yang, not Goldie. I only go by that cause of my hair,” Yang said, flicking her hair behind her shoulder with a quick shake of her head, and Blake nodded slowly, a fond smiling curling at her lips. “So where do you want this one?”  
“My chest, right in between my breasts,” Blake said firmly and Yang nearly swallowed her cigarette from the sharp intake of breath. She coughed, one hand pounding on her chest and the other shoving the cigarette behind her ear. Blake was immediately next to her, awkwardly holding her hands over her as though she wanted to help but afraid to touch Yang without permission. Yang smiled weakly at her, as thankfully as she could, and rasped out,

“You sure? That’s even worse than the hip.” Blake sighed with relief and smiled again, relaxing her arms. One hand landed gently on Yang’s exposed shoulder and she started as though she hadn’t realized she was so close. “S’alright,” Yang said with a wink, “I don’t mind you checking out my tattoos.” 

Blake rolled her eyes at that and settled back into the chair, already taking off her shirt. “I’m sure. This one’s personal.” She frowned and added, “They were all personal but this one...This one has a promise attached to it.” Her voice nearly became a growl as she said it and Yang frowned as she prepared her tools.

“Still gonna hurt like hell.”

“I don’t mind. You’ll pin me down, right?” Blake said dryly and shot Yang a wink of her own. Yang smirked and turned away to hide the blush that spread across her cheeks as much as to distract herself from the rising heat in her core, and muttered,

“If that’s what you’re after, I live right upstairs. We could skip the foreplay.” She looked back with a cheeky smile and was nearly shocked still by the sight of Blake seriously considering her offer.

“Maybe,” Blake said after a moment, “I figure if I’m getting a tattoo to commemorate breaking up with that asshole I might as well go all in.”

Yang scoffed and went back to her tools, her excitement petering out. “So that’s how it is? Sorry Blake, I’m nobody’s rebound.” 

“That’s not...that’s not what I meant,” Blake said softly, so softly that Yang almost didn’t hear it. “I would never do that, I just…he’s been out of my life for a while now, I just haven’t gotten to...celebrate it, I guess.” She sighed and looked away, shirt half off. “That’s not to try and convince you to change your mind, I wouldn’t treat you like that.” Her gaze was sad, almost forlorn, and Yang could feel the regret coming off of her in waves.

Yang smiled softly and gingerly reached out to rest a hand on Blake’s own, making her gasp softly. “I know,” she said, and somehow she did know. She knew in the same way she knew how to give someone a tattoo, like an instinct these days. “You ready to get the tattoo?” Blake nodded and slid her shirt the rest of the way off and then Yang’s got to work. Blake hissed with pain as the tattoo was applied, gripping the armrests as though they were the only thing tethering her to the chair, and Yang kept good on her word to pin her down, gently holding her in place as best she could as she worked. Three times Yang asked if she wanted to stop and rest, three times Blake said no, and three times Yang insisted just to be safe. Blake huffed in disappointment each time, but did as she was told, fidgeting in the chair as she and Yang chatted during each break. 

Eventually the tattoo was finished and Blake was inspecting it in the mirror. “Damn,” she breathed out and Yang smirked as she gathered up the supplies Blake would need to keep it clean while the skin healed. They walked out into the front room after Blake had gotten her tattoo dressed and her shirt back on, and Yang was finishing up the payment. Blake rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, idly studying Yang’s tattoos as she waited. 

“There you go,” Yang said cheerfully, sliding over her card and receipt. Blake took them, letting her fingers drape across Yang’s hand for a moment and Yang flipped her hand over to gently trace the crease of her wrist, making Blake gasp softly. “And if you ever feel like you wanna see the rest of my tattoos, just let me know.”

“Really?” Blake asked softly, “Even after-”  
“Yeah,” Yang said with a reassuring smile, then added, “That asshole didn’t deserve you. Besides, you seem pretty great and if I like spending time with you as much as I like tattooing you, we’re gonna get along fine. But,” she held up a finger in the air and Blake raised an eyebrow curiously, “I’m gonna need some warning if you wanna skip the foreplay next time. I’m a classy lady, I need time to prepare.” 

“Yeah, that’s exactly how I’d describe you,” Blake said dryly and Yang grinned, stretching her arms above her head to show off her tattoos and delighting in the way that Blake’s eyes followed the curve of her muscles. “But if you’re really a classy lady, I’ll have to take you out to dinner first.”

“Nowhere too fancy, they’ll faint if they see me,” Yang said and Blake rolled her eyes.

“I know a few dive bars where you’d fit right in,” she teased and Yang snorted with laughter. “Night, Yang,” she said waving with a small, almost shy smile as she headed for the door. Yang smiled tenderly at her as she left, the same wistful stare in her eye that there always was when Blake left.

“Night Blake,” she murmured, and with that Blake was gone in the night once more. Yang sighed happily and shoved her hands into her pockets, glancing around the store. Blake had stuck around long enough this time that she’d had time to finish cleaning up and now, well, now they were on track for a date. Yang didn’t know much about Blake’s past, other than the fact that her last boyfriend was a real shitbag, but she was excited to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is inspired by that one tattooing post that's been going around on Tumblr. If you've see SayoHyou's bumbleby tattoo art, it's the same post.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!
> 
> Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacubesilvora  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakobretheKitty


	32. And Neon Makes Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At one of the many afterparties in the wake of Salem's defeat, Blake and Yang receive an interesting proposition from Neon Katt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alcohol mention in this chapter!

“Neon, stop,” Yang said with a tired smile, holding up a hand to keep another pair of whiskey shots from winding up in front of her and Blake. “I’ve had plenty.”

“Me too,” Blake mumbled, nuzzling against Yang. Yang felt a blush spread through her cheeks, still easily flustered even after having been dating Blake for a month and a half. She turned to give her a peck on the cheek, which made Blake hum happily, then looked back at Neon Katt, who slung back both shots with practiced ease.

“Party poopers,” she muttered, then threw on her usual beaming smile. “C’mon! We’re just getting started! Salem’s defeated and the night’s still young, you gotta live a little!” Yang shook her head, the same tired smile still in place. She and Blake had agreed to come out with Neon and the rest of team FNKI after Ruby had insisted that they had to do something to celebrate. Ruby, Weiss, and Penny were off watching a movie, meaning that Yang and Blake were at the mercy of team FNKI and more specifically, Neon. The overexcited raver had been pestering them to let loose and go wild since they showed up, but Yang wasn’t feeling it. Even now, with the world at peace and Salem defeated, she just wanted to go to sleep for a year. Doing so snuggled up to Blake sounded even better.

She opened her mouth to speak, only for Blake to sigh and push herself upright with a groan. “C’mon, Yang, she’s only gonna keep at it until we go dancing or something.” Yang laughed at that and the look out faux outrage on Neon’s face at being called out, allowing Blake to drag her to the dancefloor. The moment they were in the middle of the crowd, Blake started to dance and Yang followed suit. 

Yang slipped into a rhythm easily, movement’s flowing from one to the next with practiced skill and grace. She didn’t know the song, some new pop song from Mistral, but a beat was a beat and Yang knew she could dance. Growing up in a farming town like Patch taught you two things: how to grow crops and how to squaredance. Yang prided herself on her modernized version of square dancing, custom made to show off what she knew could really make Blake blush.

True to form Blake was red as a beet, smiling bashfully as she watched Yang dance. Her own movements were graceful in their own way, but she was still a lost cause when it came to modern dancing. She was a ballroom dancer by upbringing, and so the frantic leaping and swinging that made up modern dance escaped her. Still, she was having fun, both of them were, and that was what mattered most. 

They were so caught up in their dancing that Yang almost didn’t notice how the crowd pushed in, moving them closer together with each passing moment. As the song finished, Blake spun once, catching her foot on her coattails. She yelped and fell, and Yang gasped, leaping forwards and catching her. They stared at one another for a moment in shock, then Blake let out a ghost of a laugh. Yang snorted with laughter at the ridiculous situation and Blake joined in, the two of them laughing as the crowd carried on around them.

Blake righted herself, slinging her arms around Yang’s neck in the process and Yang gasped again, this time from the sudden heat pooling in her core. Blake was pressed flush against her, their lips a hair’s breadth apart. They could kiss. They had kissed plenty over the past month and a half, and part of Yang was almost upset that they had waited as long as they did to finally express their feelings. 

“So,” she murmured and Blake smiled.

“So,” she said, almost a whisper, “I feel like maybe we should move on from dancing.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. That ‘or something’ is sounding really good right about now,” Blake purred and Yang flushed red, looking away even as Blake laughed softly. “Only if you want to, hon.”

“I-I do,” Yang stammered out, running a hand through her hair, “It’s just that, I’ve never done it before.”

“It’s okay,” Blake said, stroking a lock of hair behind her ear and gently pulling her back to look into her eyes. The compassion held in Blake’s gaze, the sheer undaunted love and consideration for Yang almost made her gasp once more. “We can take it slow.”

“I’d like that,” Yang breathed out and Blake nodded, sliding her hand into Yang’s and entwining her fingers.

“How long is that movie that Ruby’s at?”

“Three hours, just about two left right now,” Yang breathed out, feeling the heat in her core spark flame anew at the small smirk Blake shot her way.

“That’s plenty of time.” Yang smiled dopily as Blake led her through the crowd, her hair streaming out behind her. This was something that she had only dreamed of, had barely even hoped to dream of, before this moment. It was another step in their relationship and a personal first for Yang, though she’d had lots of personal firsts with Blake. Gods, Yang thought as she followed Blake towards their hotel, she was absolutely ready to take that plunge with Blake, absolutely ready to-

“Where you going?” Neon yelled and Yang groaned under her breath, coming up short. Blake balked in the road and turned back with a halfhearted glare, the two of them finding Neon bouncing on her feet at the edge of the party.

“Back to the hotel,” Yang said with what she hoped was a nonchalant shrug. It seemed to work as Neon said, 

“Aw, already? You lovebirds really need that much time alone?”

“Yes, actually,” Blake said firmly, “We’re going to spend some time together.” Neon kept bouncing on her feet, smiling eagerly at the two of them. “Alone, Neon.” 

“That’s no fun,” Neon said, waving away Blake’s now much more serious glare, “You might have a better time if someone who knows what they’re doing is around.”

“And that’s you?” Yang said dryly and Neon nodded quickly.

“Aren’t you and Flynt together?” Blake asked, jerking her head at the band, which was being led by a very enthusiastic Flynt.

“Nah,” Neon said with a shrug, “I mean, sometimes, sure, but we’re not, like, a permanent thing.” Yang started blankly at her for a long moment, a look echoed by Blake, until Neon scoffed lightly and said, “You never know what you like until you try it.” She glanced at Yang and shot her a wink, saying, “I know how to make top heavy girls like you scream.”

“Neon, I fucking hate you,” Yang groaned and Neon’s smile only grew.

“That’s okay. I like angry sex.” 

“Oh, for the love of-” Blake started to say, then let out a sigh of exasperation, “Are you really not gonna let this go?” Neon’s smile faltered, shifting from a beaming excitement to a gentle sheepishness.

“Sorry,” she murmured, “I just get excited about this kinda stuff. We don’t have to do anything like that if you don’t want to.” Yang smiled softly at Neon, happy to see her understand their feelings, then looked at Blake to find her brow furrowed in thought.

“Blake?” Yang asked, receiving no response. She gave Blake’s hand a gentle squeeze, making Blake startle slightly and look around until she met Yang’s eyes. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I am,” she said slowly, then glanced at Neon. “It might be fun.” Yang opened her mouth in shock, then tutted softly.

“And people say that I’m Beacon’s party girl.”

“No, you’re Beacon’s country girl,” Blake said with a sidelong grin and Yang rolled her eyes with a small smile. “I’m okay with trying it, at least for a while. What about you?”

“I...hmm,” Yang cocked her head to the side in thought as she had seen Blake do a thousand times, then shrugged. “We can try it,” she agreed, then turned and glared at Neon, “But no freaky stuff.”

“I’ll save that for next time,” Neon said, her grin returning. She started skating circles around the two as they walked, and Yang shot Blake a pleading look. Blake smirked softly and gave her a reassuring squeeze. With that, they walked off towards the hotel.

Yang woke up with a groan, her back sore and her head blurry. She looked around, lilac eyes raking over the room until they found...orange hair? 

“Hey blondie,” Neon said, propped up on her arm in Yang and Blake’s bed. Yang yelped and sat upright, clawing at the blankets to cover herself as she did, realizing that she was naked just as quickly as she realized that Blake was missing. 

“Wh-where’s Blake?” she asked, looking around wildly. Neon laughed softly and gestured at a note on the bedside table, which read, ‘Grabbing food. Be back soon, love -Blake’. Yang sighed softly, warmth filling her chest as she fell back to bed. No sooner had she done so than did Neon drape herself over her chest, gently nuzzling her cheek. Yang glanced down at her and couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. “Was it a good night?”

“It was a great night,” Neon agreed, curling up to Yang and running a finger down her chest, making Yang gasp lightly. “You were exceptional. Blake and I talked about it earlier, while you were asleep. She’s a lucky woman.”

“And I’m lucky to have her,” Yang groaned as Neon’s hand worked its way lower. The door cracked open as she managed to look up to find Blake standing there, a bag of food in her arm. “M-morni-” she was cut off by a cry as Neon worked even lower and by the time that Yang could see clearly again, Blake was tossing her shirt aside, pants undone. “Breakfast?” Yang mumbled and Blake shrugged.

“Breakfast can come later. Right now, I want you,” she purred and Yang hummed happily even as Neon kept on doing what she pleased. Yang was determined to stand up to it and be coherent when talking to Blake, but when Blake joined in, Yang arched her back with another cry, a smile of bliss crossing her face. Yeah, she thought before pouncing on her girlfriend and Neon, breakfast could wait. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this a ship? Who am I kidding, it's the RWBY Fandom, of course it's a ship.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!  
> Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacubesilvora  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakobretheKitty


	33. The Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of Salem's defeat, Winter helps the Happy Huntresses coordinate the rebuilding of Atlas and Mantle, and has a special meeting with Robyn.

Today had been a good day. At the very least, Winter had thought today had been good, even if most other people wouldn’t have. She had been on time for all her appointments that morning, something that Winter prided herself on, and was more than ready to face the other half dozen she had that afternoon.

Most people might have thought that was a bit much, but Winter was a planner at heart. She had meticulously plotted out her day based around the average time it would take to get from one part of Mantle to the next, factoring in traffic, road work, even the amount of time it took to say ‘goodbye’ to her sister when she had stopped in that morning. Weiss had an entire two hour block dedicated to herself, never mind the thirty minute bookends to travel to and from the rundown hostel that she had taken to running in the wake of their victory over Salem. Weiss was, as Winter had always suspected, a bleeding heart. Winter, on the other hand, was anything but. At least, that was what she liked to tell herself. It didn't stop her from feeling a soft flame of adoration for the small community that Weiss had built, helping people to get back on their feet after such a massive invasion of Grimm. Between her and the rest of team RWBY, Mantle was turning itself around quickly. Atlas wasn’t faring as well, but the people of Mantle were slowly starting to extend aid to the floating city. Winter hoped that, one day, the two parts of the Kingdom would be able to work as one, but she was well aware that that was a vision of the future she wouldn’t live long enough to see come to fruition. 

But that wasn’t something that Winter was willing to bog her mind down with right now. Right now, she had appointments to keep. Her next appointment was, by far, the most important of the day, if only due to how infrequently it occurred. Robyn Hill had been a predictable leader for Mantle ever since her release from prison and being instated as such, and that predictability meant that she was hard to get a one on one appointment with. She had long been a public figure, and one with an open door policy at that, which meant that most of her time was kept busy by the rest of Mantle. People from Atlas, like Winter, were a luxury that Robyn rarely had the time to indulge in.

As Winter walked into the makeshift headquarters of Mantle’s new government, really a ramshackle operation of abandoned apartment buildings and tents near the crater, she kept her back straight and her eyes forward. The Atlas military may have been disbanded, but that didn’t mean she was willing to give up on the rigid discipline that it had given her. At this point that discipline was as much a part of who Winter was as her saber or dying her hair white. It was natural, something that she could rely on. 

Joanna Greenleaf was standing guard today, something that she had taken to with a grateful smile and a sigh of relief. She was just as much a leader as the rest of the Happy Huntresses, but had always been more comfortable in a fist fight than at the diplomatic table. Winter could still remember from back in their days at Atlas Academy, Joanna got into fights almost every day, usually over some snide comment aimed at Fiona Thyme. Of all the Huntresses, Fiona Thyme was the only one that scared Winter. That woman was, as all the Huntresses and anyone who knew her would put it, adorable, clever, charismatic, and inspiring. She also had a nasty habit of summoning trucks out of her personal pocket dimension to squash any Grimm who got in her way. Winter knew who’s side she’d rather be on in a fight. 

“Hey there Schnee,” Joanna said with a snarl that might have been a smile on anyone else. Pleasant expressions were like a poison to Joanna, but Winter couldn’t judge her too harshly. She was much the same, after all. It did make Winter happy that Joanna managed to keep most of the venom out of her voice when she said the name ‘Schnee’, probably due to the good work that Weiss and Whitley were doing to rebuild Mantle. There was still an edge to it, of course, but that was mostly due to habit than anything else. 

“Morning Greenleaf,” Winter said curtly, coming to a halt in front of Joanna, “I have an appointment with Robyn.” Joanna grunted and jerked her head at the door she was guarding, saying,

“She’s waiting for you inside. Hope you like Robyn’s coffee, she’s been making it by the bucketful.”

“I’ve had worse,” Winter said and Joanna snorted derisively.

“That’s hard to believe. Go on in, she’s expecting you.” Winter nodded her thanks and stepped inside of the headquarters. The building had been changed from an apartment to a headquarters almost overnight, the main desk repurposed into a computer bank, the lobby turned into a logistical center where May Marigold coordinated with local defense forces to keep the Grimm at bay, and every apartment turned either into a storage room or a personal office. Winter knew her way to Robyn’s office by heart at this point and only needed to get a curt nod from May to speed her on her way.

As Winter approached Robyn’s office, lucky number 614, she said, she heard Robyn finishing up a conversation through the open door. “...all right, Fisticuffs. You let me know if you two need any help out there.” A voice that Winter distinctly recognized as Yang Xiao Long’s echoed out the door, too soft to make out, but Robyn laughed. “Just don’t get all doe eyed for Ribbons and try not to die. I’ll see you when I see you.” Robyn sighed and there was a clatter as she set her scroll down on her desk, sitting with a heavy grunt. Winter knocked at the door and Robyn called out, “It opens!” 

“Good morning Robyn,” Winter said as she stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Robyn laughed, the sound tired and low as compared to her usual upbeat nature. She had bags under her eyes and she was slumped over her desk, but she still perked up slightly when she saw Winter.

“Hey Winter,” she said with an exhausted smile, “It has been a good day, hasn’t it?” Robyn’s office was a simple thing, just a small apartment retrofitted into an office, but she had managed to squeeze a desk, a loveseat and recliner for guests, and an entire computer setup, complete with five monitors, into a single room. A small bedroom was off to the side, where Witner knew for a fact Robyn slept, despite everyone’s protests. Sometimes it seemed like she never left this room. 

“I trust things are going well on the outskirts?” Winter asked as she settled into the recliner. She kept her posture perfect, much to Robyn’s amusement if the smirk and raised eyebrow were anything to go off of.

“They are,” Robyn agreed, “Xiao Long and Belladonna are doing a whole heap of work keeping sectors ten through fourteen clear, and Rose is coordinating with the militias in sectors six, four, and seven. The rest of their friends are helping out as well, I can’t even tell you how many lives that Arc kid has saved.” 

“His semblance?” Winter asked and Robyn nodded.

“That and his little dust shield grenade. Hopefully I can get Pietro his lab back soon so he can make more of them. We could use a crate of those little bastards.”

“I’m sure,” Winter said, and Robyn sighed, almost collapsing onto her desk, “and how are you?” This wasn’t the purpose of their meeting, they were supposed to be discussing ways to finalize logistics between Mantle and Atlas, but Winter’s budding feelings for Robyn always seemed to get in the way of business. No amount of discipline could stop that. 

“Tired,” Robyn muttered, then backtracked so quickly it was like she had never spoken to begin with, “But I’m fine, really. I just need a nap, and I’ll be fine.” Winter smiled softly at her, the expression still almost painful but she endured, and said,

“You’d need time off for that.” Robyn snorted with laughter and shook her head ruefully.

“That’s the truth.” There was a long moment of silence between them, then Robyn looked up at Winter with a pained, almost pleading expression. “Can you do the thing?”

“The smile or the massage?” Winter said, already standing, inwardly cursing Robyn’s penchant for referring to anything that didn’t have a distinct name as ‘the thing’. 

“Massage, please,” Robyn whispered, stumbling to her feet when Winter settled onto the loveseat and patted the space next to her. She collapsed into the plush cushions, leaning heavily against Winter, and let out a happy sigh. Winter hid a smile of her own as she positioned her hands on Robyn’s shoulders, almost gasping as she felt the tension held there. She had tense shoulders, her own masseuse could attest to that, but Robyn’s were like wire. Still, Winter had strong hands from using her saber all day, not to mention the hours of typing that had given her fingers a rhythmic staccato that Robyn claimed was the best feeling in the world, and she was game to try and loosen her...friend’s tense muscles. 

She started small and Robyn groaned immediately, slumping against her as though she had suddenly gone boneless. Winter smirked and continued, digging into Robyn’s shoulders in the way that she knew Robyn liked, and asked, “So, about Atlas.”

“Always business with you,” Robyn grunted between groans of relief, “I wanna get this stuff with Atlas sorted so we can move onto pleasure.” 

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Winter drawled in a way that she knew she had picked up from Weiss, who had picked it up from Yang. Traits twice removed seemed to be Winter’s go to these days. 

“Right,” Robyn grumbled halfheartedly, then waved her hand, “What’s up with Atlas?” And so Winter started to explain what was happening in Atlas. Food and water were, thankfully, taken care of these days and efforts to cleanse the fields from Salem’s miasma were progressing nicely. The Grimm were almost entirely eradicated, save for a few dens in the subway system, but the Ace Ops, newly reformed under Marrow, were cleaning them up swiftly. Materials to rebuild were low, and so they would need more of those as soon as Mantle could spare them, but that wasn’t a pressing issue. 

“People are unhappy,” Winter said with a heavy sigh, “But that’s just the way of things, I suppose. Most people in Atlas had never even seen a Grimm before Salem showed up. It was a shock to every...Robyn?” She paused and looked down to find that Robyn had fallen asleep during her explanation. Winter held back a sigh, though whether it was annoyed or fond she couldn’t quite tell, and leaned back to give Robyn a better place to lie down. Soft snores emanated up from Robyn’s chest as she slept and this time the sigh that escaped Winter’s lips was most certainly fond. 

A nap had definitely been in order. Winter couldn’t help but be glad that she had been able to help Robyn relax, if only just a little bit. She pulled out her scroll and started cancelling appointments for the rest of the day. If anything came up while Robyn was asleep, Winter could deal with it. 

And something came up immediately as Robyn’s scroll started going off. Winter sighed and gently scooted out from underneath Robyn, laying her head on the cushion as softly as she could. Satisfied that Robyn was still asleep, Winter picked up her scroll and answered it, saying, “This is Schnee. Go ahead.” The person on the other side, who Winter recognized as Ruby from the small ‘Huh?’ she heard on the other end, paused in confusion, then pushed it aside. This wasn’t the first time that Winter had filled in for Robyn, and she had a feeling that it would not be the last. As Winter listened to Ruby detail the militia’s newest deployments, she couldn’t help but smile softly at Robyn’s sleeping form. Finally, after all these years, Winter was starting to see what Weiss was getting at when she gushed about team RWBY. Finally, Winter had a team of her own. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, not that The Thing.  
> It's been too long since I wrote Winter and Robyn. I missed them.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!  
> Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacubesilvora  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakobretheKitty


	34. Free Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Parkour expert Yang plans and practices a route for a new video, under the watchful eye of her girlfriend Blake.

Feet pounded the pavement as a yellow blur bolted down the road, weaving through people like a ghost. She leapt up, pushing with one foot off a nearby railing and catching the wall in front of her, hauling herself up and over with a single motion. She landed lightly on the other side, scanning the building in front of her, searching for her route. The fountain she was meant to end at was a straight shot away, a simple run through the main courtyard of the building she was standing in front of, but where was the fun in that?  
Instead she tore off into a sprint once more, leaping over benches and vaulting across the tables that made up the outside courtyard before finding the exterior staircase. She leapt off a table and latched onto the outside, clambering up and over the outer wall and onto the stairs themselves. From there she pushed off the main pillar of the staircase with one leg, leaping off the opposite outer wall and grabbing the railing that surrounded the balcony around the building. Within two heaves and two grunts she was up and over, rolling over the railing before sprinting off down the balcony.   
From there it was over the second balcony, leaping behind her to land into the second exterior stairwell. She leapt over the wall and fell the fifteen feet down, rolling to conserve her momentum and keep her ankles from shattering under the impact, then she tackled the next set of tables. As she cleared the last one, she pushed off hard and flung herself backwards, flipping through the air in a graceful curve as she cleared the benches before her and landing neatly into the jog. She slid to a halt, casually crossing her legs as she landed in a sitting position on the fountain, breathing hard.   
The woman beside her smirked and passed her a water bottle, which she drank from deeply before standing and walking in a small circle to keep her muscles from cramping. “How’d I look?” she asked, shooting her companion a wink.   
“You looked great, as always,” Blake smirked, opening the notebook on her lap, “But you only got up the second floor on the balcony. Wasn’t the plan to get to the third floor?”  
“It was, but I figured the flip at the end makes up for it,” Yang said with a shrug, wiping sweat off her brow as she kept walking in her small circle. “Besides, it’s hot as shit today. I probably shouldn't even be running outside right now.”  
“And here I was thinking it was finally pleasant,” Blake said dryly and Yang snorted with a roll of her eyes, taking another sip of water.  
“Not all of us were born on a tropical island.”  
“No,” Blake agreed, “Some of us were born in the middle of fucking nowhere, where it gets so cold I feel like I’m dying every time I step outside in the winter.”  
“And Ruby calls me dramatic,” Yang grinned, plopping down next to Blake on the fountain. Blake laughed softly, leaning into Yang on instinct and Yang wrapped an arm around her shoulders, passing her the water. “I keep telling you to get a thicker coat.”  
“And I keep telling you to stop doing parkour in ninety degree weather, but you never listen,” Blake teased and Yang laughed softly, nuzzling her cheek against Blake’s head. She giggled as Blake flicked her ear against her cheek, tickling her, and said,  
“It’s not my fault my only free days are always the hottest days of the summer.”   
“You’re a parkour instructor,” Blake said with a small, resigned smile, “Why do you have to do it on the weekends too?”  
“I love it,” Yang said with a shrug, “and you know that the gym’s not the same as doing it in the city. It’s special when you do it in the real world, you know?”  
“A bit,” Blake said, glancing at her notebook which had a small tally of people that Blake had spotted filming Yang as she ran her route. “But you love the attention.”  
“It’s how I met you, right?” Yang said with a small, teasing smile and Blake rolled her eyes.  
“If you mean how you tackled my lunch off my table while I was just trying to eat, then yes,” she said dryly and Yang’s smile turned sheepish, running her free hand through her hair.  
“That was a bad jump, I’ll admit it,” she said, “But I’m better about that now.”  
“And i’m glad that you did it,” Blake murmured, turning to place a small kiss on Yang’s cheek that made her gasp softly. Even now, years after they had met, Yang still couldn’t believe that Blake had fallen in love with her. Blake had seemed so distant, so committed to keeping to herself, that when she had wandered into Yang’s parkour gym to start learning Yang had thought she was lost. It was only due to a viral video of Yang leaping face first into Blake’s tuna salad that Blake had sought her out at all, but neither of them regretted it.  
Yang’s phone went off and she slipped it out of her pocket to see a video message from Ruby labeled ‘Weiss needs practice’. She smirked as she opened it, tilting to screen to show Blake the video. Their mutual friend Weiss was positioned in front of one of the beginner’s obstacles at the gym, the occasional red fingernail letting them know that Ruby was filming. Weiss let out a heavy breath, then sprinted full bore at the obstacles, three waist high foam barriers in a row. She vaulted over first one, then the second, then went to do the same to the third, pushing off the second barrier with her legs, but her hands slipped on the third. She let out a yelp and tumbled over the barrier, landing in a heap on the padded ground. Ruby started roaring with laughter at the sight of their usually coordinated friend on the ground, and the video cut off, Yang and Blake filling in the gaps it left behind with laughter of their own. “Gods, she’s just no good at that one,” Yang said with a sigh and Blake snorted softly.  
“You’d think she would be. She was a world class ballerina, coordination is part of life already.”  
“It’s different parts of the brain,” Yang said, the same lesson that she gave everyone who came into her gym with an athletic background. Blake nodded knowingly, her own background martial arts only helping slightly when it came to parkour. That had been her and Yang’s original deal, settled in a bout of flirting, that she would teach Yang Kuo Kuana martial arts if Yang would teach her parkour. The muscles were there for both of them, but the methods were different and they were both better athletes for expanding their repertoires.   
“Well I think the parkour part of my brain has had enough for today,” Blake said, gesturing at her notes. Yang looked down to see that Blake had squeezed four pages of notes onto one page, as usual, cramming things into the margins and the corners.   
“That’s fair, I think I have too,” Yang said, “We’ve been out here for hours already.” It was true, they had been at the same building since six in the morning, Yang building her route from the ground up to shoot a first person POV video for her gym’s Grimmtube channel. That was half of their advertising right there, the other half being Ruby’s advertisements in the paper and flyers around town.   
“True,” Blake said, curling up to Yang and nuzzling her head under her chin, “But I hope you’re not too tired.” Yang flushed red as Blake snuggled up against her, heat rising in her core as Blake murmured, “You know I get hot under the collar watching you work out.”   
“Gods alive, how far away is the apartment?” Yang whispered and Blake snickered softly.  
“A twenty minute walk. I’ll race you.” Yang shot her girlfriend a cocky grin and started to say,  
“You’re on Bellad-” but Blake leapt out of her lap, notebook in hand, and started bolting across the courtyard towards their apartment. Yang yelped in surprise and leapt up to chase after her. Their race soon devolved from a coordinated race into a chase of tags and kisses as they raced home. Yang couldn’t help but feel the love in her heart overflow as she ran after Blake, towards their apartment. Everything in her life was looking up these days, and she couldn't be happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by the work of the wonderful Sayohyou! They're on both Twitter and Tumblr, go check them out!  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!  
> Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacubesilvora  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakobretheKitty  
> The picture can be found here: https://twitter.com/sayo0692/status/1347690060301422594


	35. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years after Salem's defeat, in a cozy little house in Vale, Blake and Yang receive a surprise visitor.

“Do you ever think you’ll be parents?” The question caught Yang off guard and her head snapped up, looking at Weiss across the fire. Weiss was studying the flames with a lazy intent, as though trying not to meet anyone’s eyes in the wake of her question.

“Maybe,” Blake said, surprising Yang again, “I know that my parents won’t stop asking me about it until I have a kid or definitively say no. But I don’t know. I’ve never had much experience with kids.” She was quiet for a moment, twirling a twig between her fingers as she watched the fire, then, “What about you, Yang?”

Yang sucked on her teeth for a moment in thought, then shrugged, “I might, one day. If I find someone to settle down with and a safe place to raise my kid. It’s not easy for a Huntress.”

“Your family managed it,” Weiss said, then immediately shrunk back into herself as though sensing she had said something wrong. Yang laughed, trying to keep the bitterness from her voice as she muttered,

“Yeah, barely.” She sighed and hugged her knees to her chest, glancing up at Weiss with a soft smile, trying to let her know that she hadn’t offended her. “But anyway, Weiss is more motherly than me.” 

“That’s a lie,” Blake scoffed, “You were both all over Adrian back in Argus. We had to drag you two away from him when we went to go steal the airship.” Yang laughed softly at that, remembering how Blake had nearly had to tackle her to the ground to get her to stop fawning over Adrian. It wasn’t her fault that Jaune’s nephew was the cutest kid in all of Remnant. “Besides, you raised Ruby. You’re practically a mother already.”

The group fell silent, almost as though the entire world had fallen silent. Yang stared into the fire, watching as the logs began to crumble, falling from a neatly organized cabin into a heap at the bottom of the firepit. Blake took a deep breath, and Yang’s eyes flickered over to her, watching her shoes.

“Yang, I didn’t-”

“It’s fine, Blake,” Yang cut in gently, holding back a heavy sigh, “I’m over it.” It was a lie, everyone knew it was a lie, even Ruby, on guard duty, must’ve sensed the lie in the air, but it was all Yang had. Talking about growing up, raising Ruby, explaining how Raven had run off, how Summer had vanished, how Tai had shrunk into himself, only just starting to return as his daughters left for Beacon, it was all too much to handle, too wrapped up in itself to extricate a single, simple cause or reason for any of it. So Yang fell back on humor, like she always did, and said, “I did all right, considering who I was competing with. You think I learned how to take care of Rubes from Raven?” Blake and Weiss laughed softly at that, and the mood lifted. The conversation turned to other things, lighter things, and Yang was thankful for that. She couldn’t handle heavy conversations, not out of the blue like that one had been. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come up again.

Nobody had expected Blake and Yang to be the first ones to have a child, nobody outside of Blake and Yang that is. They had started discussing it years before they’d even gotten married, and now, years later, they finally had a wonderful daughter named Lilla. At five years old, she was a firecracker and a ninja all rolled up into one, taking hte best bits of both her mothers and combining them into something even greater. 

Yang watched her play with her stuffed Grimmin the living room, Blake reading a book nearby. Lilla was playing her favorite game, Huntress, already planning out what kind of warrior she was going to be when she inevitably followed in her mothers’ footsteps. Yang nad Blake had tried to explain that she didn’t need to be a Huntress, that she could be whatever she wanted to be, but Lilla had been firm in her convictions. She reminded Yang so much of Ruby at that age that it was almost like looking into her own memories, but then lilla would look up with amber eyes and blonde tipped cat ears and Yang would be brought back to the present. 

She was about to gently kneel next to her daughter and take on the role of the Grimm as she usually did, when a knock came from the front door. Yang narrowed her eyes, her hand curling into a fist on instinct, but she pushed the feeling aside. It was probably just one of their neighbors or a package or something. So she stood with a small stretch and a grunt, ignoring the knocking that came again, more insistently this time, and said, “I’ll get it.” Blake nodded her thanks, flipping the page on her book, and Yang stepped carefully over their daughter’s precisely laid out toys with a murmured, “Scuse me, baby.” The knocking came again, almost a pounding now, and Yang felt a small frown find its way onto her face, saying, “All right, I’m coming!” She swung open the door, leaning on the doorframe as had become her habit, but almost froze up in shock as she saw who was on their doorstep.

“Hello Yang,” Raven said, one hand resting on Omen as she did her best to keep from glaring at her daughter. “Where is she?”

“Raven,” Yang said, then glanced over her shoulder to see Blake looking over with interest from the living room. Yang flashed her a smile and mouthed ‘Just a minute’ before stepping outside and closing the door behind her. Her frown returned full force and she folded her arms across her chest as she growled, “What do you want?”

“I want to see my granddaughter,” Raven said flatly, “Where is she?”

“How do you know about her?”

“Tai told me.”

“He shouldn’t have,” Yang grumbled, placing herself firmly in between Raven and the front door. “Why do you want to see her?”

“She’s my granddaughter, isn’t she?” Raven snorted, as though it were obvious, “I need to make sure that you’re raising her right.” Yang expected to feel a flash of anger or a rush of disbelief, but instead she let out a bark of laughter as she heard that. Raven scowled at her as she kept laughing, almost doubling over as she clutched her stomach. 

“You want to-to-If we’re raising her right?” Yang choked out, eventually able to stand upright and speak through her laughter. “You? Really?” 

“Why not me?” Raven asked, standing up to her full heigh, which was now a few inches shorter than Yang. She had shrunk in the years since their confrontation in the vault beneath Haven. 

“Why no-You left us, Raven!” Yang said, the disbelief coming in hard and fast now, “You abandoned us, abandoned dad, and me, and Summer, and your own fucking  _ brother _ . Why would I ever want you to meet my daughter?”

“I can teach her things,” Raven hissed, her grip around Omen tightening ever so slightly, “Things that you don’t know.”

“Teach her things? Like how you taught me?” That made Raven pause and she took a small step back, but Yang wasn’t done even as Raven said, 

“Yang, you don’t understand. You turned out fine.”

“Yeah, I did, without you. I had a great mother in Summer. She’s my mom, not you.” Raven went pale and she took another step back, but now the anger had arrived and Yang’s eyes flashed a dangerous red as she continued, “And after she vanished, we figured shit out. I didn’t know how to cook, but I learned. I didn’t know how to take care of a child, but I figured it out. Nobody was there to teach me how to make friends or flirt, but I’ve got myself a wonderful wife now, don’t I?” Raven nodded slowly, backing down the front steps, “Nobody was there- _ you _ weren’t there-when we had to face down Salem, just team RWBY. We reached out to everyone! You had to know!” Yang’s breathing was growing ragged and she grit her teeth to keep a sob from slipping out before saying, “We saved the fucking world, Raven. We saved the world and then we made our lives. You weren’t there for any of it, I never needed you to teach me a godsdammed thing, so don’t believe for a second that I need you to teach me how raise my kid!” Yang slumped against the closed door as Raven backed away again, tears slipping down her cheeks. She drew Omen and Yang instinctually activated the gauntlet in her arm, but Raven only swiped the air, opening a portal. Before she could step through to wherever it was, Yang choked out, “Why didn’t you want me, Raven?”

Raven sniffled softly and Yang’s eyes went wide as she saw a tea trickle down her cheek. “I’m sorry, Yang,” she choked out and Yang finally let out a sob. Then the bandit queen grit her teeth and stepped through the portal, vanishing back to where she came from. 

The door flung open behind Yang and she fell backwards with a yelp as what she had been leaning on gave way. She fell into strong arms as Blake caught her, the two of them tumbling to the ground in a heap. “Sorry,” Yang managed to say as the tears began to fall, “I’m so fucking sorry.” 

Blake cooed softly, running a hand down Yang’s back and holding her close, murmuring, “It’s okay, you’re okay now.” Yang turned and buried her face into Blake’s chest as Blake comforted her, rubbing small circles into the small of her back. “I saw her through the window,” Blake murmured, and Yang nodded jerkily as she cried, “We’re okay. She’s gone.”

“I know,” Yang choked out, leaning backwards enough to see Blake smiling softly down at her as they lay in the open doorway, and seeing Lilla walk up in the corner of her eye. “I just...why’d she have to come by? Gods, I thought that-” she sighed and buried her head back into Blake’s chest. They had talked about Raven at length, and Blake was well aware that Yang had hoped that they would never have to deal with her birth mother ever again. “I hope that’s the last time we see that fuck,” Yang grumlbed and Blake nodded slowly, closing the door with her foot as she comforted her wife. They might’ve stayed there forever, drinking in comfort from one another, if a new, high pitched voice hadn’t cut into the moment.

“Fuck!” Yang and Blake both looked over to see Lilla smiling broadly, a mischievous glint in her eyes that they both knew well. “Fuck!” she cried again and Yang gasped, Blake slapping a hand to her mouth in shock.

“H-honey, you can’t say that,” Yang started to say, “ That’s an adult wo-”

“Fuck!” Lilla yelled again, slowly backing away towards her toys. She knew this game, they all did, where Lilla would break a minor rule and her mothers would playfully chase her through the house in order to catch her and teach her why it was wrong. She leaned towards her mothers in a way that she had certainly learned from her Auntie Ruby and smiled deviously. “Fuck.” 

Yang leapt at her to scoop her up and tickle her into submission, but Lilla was faster, charging up and over the couch and towards the kitchen. Yang sighed, now splayed out on the floor across Blake’s legs, glancing up at her wife. “Should we go get her?”

“Are you up for it?” Blake asked gently and Yang smiled softly. 

“I think so,” she said and Blake nodded, the two slowly standing, one arm around the other’s waist. 

“She’ll probably go hide in the laundry room again,” Blake said and Yang nodded knowingly, having found their daughter hiding beneath the bedsheets on laundry day more than once. 

“So we’ll check there last,” she said and Blake smiled, nuzzling against her cheek. Yang hummed contentedly, then they set off to go find their daughter. Nobody had expected it, least of all Yang, but she and Blake made for excellent parents. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had this idea floating around for a while.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!  
> Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacubesilvora  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakobretheKitty


	36. The Grave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The grave usually stood alone, there on its lonely clifftop. Sometimes, of course, there were visitors.

The grave, as always, stood alone, upon the cliff where it made its home. Sometimes family would come by, on birthdays, Mother’s Day, and the anniversary of it’s installment, but other than that, nobody ever came. When approached, the dirt would scratch and compact on the trail back to the road nearby, and then soft footsteps would become softer as they walked across the grass to the grave.

Instead of all that, the air hummed and groaned as a slash of energy crossed it, cutting the breeze perpendicularly to create a portal. Through that portal, stained as ever a bloody red, stepped a woman. Her mask was at her hip, and her sword was already sheathed once more. She sighed as she saw the grave, glad that it wasn’t raining in Vale. She had chosen today specifically, knowing that nobody else would be here. The weather didn’t matter, she’d been here in two foot deep snow and pouring rain, but it was nice to be here on a clear day as the sun went down. 

She unhooked her scabbard, placing it lightly on the ground next to the grave, and took a seat with a small grunt. Crimson eyes raked across the name on the grave, the words beneath it that were as familiar to her now as her own name. It took a moment for her to speak, and for just a second it was almost like she didn’t remember how. But she found the words, somehow. She always found the words. 

“Hey Summer,” Raven said softly, a voice that would’ve seen her mocked back in camp, even if no one would dare to do so openly. “Bet you didn’t expect to see me today.” That was stupid to say, and Raven knew it. Summer wasn’t here, not even her body was here. Still, it felt nice. It was almost like walking into their dorm back in Beacon, surprising Summer while she poured over team strategies and tactics. That had been Team STRQ’s favorite game, ‘Startle Summer’. It was easier than their team leader had wanted to admit. “I guess you want to know how I’m doing.” 

So Raven explained what was happening with the tribe, their newest raids in light of the loss of international communication and how wealthy they had become. She talked about Vernal, how much she missed her these days. Raven admitted a lot of things to Summer, things that she never would’ve admitted to anyone else, perhaps not even to herself. She talked about Cinder Fall, if only briefly. 

“You would’ve squashed this bitch, back in the day,” Raven said with a dry laugh, “Too confident and cocky for her own good, relying on her Maiden powers too much. But don’t worry, she didn’t make it out of the fight with me.” She paused for a moment, picturing Summer’s face as she put together the words, picked out the truth that Raven refused to say in front of her. “It was me or her, Summer,” Raven said, protesting the small, disapproving frown that she saw in her mind’s eye, “She killed Vernal. She would’ve killed Yang.” 

At that Raven paused again, looking away towards the sun. Golden light spilled forth from it, wreathing the grave in a beautiful sunset of purples and reds, white clouds drifting by to welcome the night.

“You’d be proud of her, Summer. Yang, I mean. She’s everything you wanted me to be.” Raven sighed and clenched her fist before letting the tension go with a heavy breath. “Gods, how did she come out of that family so strong? She talked to me, in the vault. She took the relic, Summer. She said that she was going to face down Salem, didn’t care that she might die for Ozpin’s stupid punishment. She just wanted to protect the people she cared about. She wanted to protect  _ me _ , Summer. Gods, it was just like the day you left.” Raven choked back a sob and her hands were fists again as she choked out, “I hate her. I hate you. I hate how-how good you two are. Why couldn’t you just run away with me? We’d both still be alive, we could have everyone in the tribe. You, me, Tai, Qrow, Yang, Ruby-”

She cut herself off before she got too far into her own words, into the impossible fantasy that she dared to dream when she was especially sad or especially drunk. She’d been dreaming it more often these days. Even if Summer had survived her last mission, she would never have abandoned her family, she would never have betrayed Ozpin. Neither would the rest of their family. Raven sometimes thought herself a poor fit for such noble people. Noble, stupid people, all of them. 

“If you think that Yang’s like you, then you should see Ruby,” Raven found herself saying, “It’s like someone just remade you when they were making her. Same eyes, same energy,” Raven snorted with laughter and muttered, “Same annoying voice. Gods alive, Summer. I’m glad that they took after you, instead of me.” 

That, Raven knew, was her call to leave. When she started to doubt herself before her imagined Summer’s imperious gaze, she knew it was time to head back to the tribe, to bury herself in the life she knew best. Life was easier when she didn’t have to face down the ghosts of her past, especially when they stared her in the face like today.

“I should go,” Raven said, standing and snatching up Omen, “the tribe will fall apart without me.” She swiped the air with her sword, creating a portal back to camp and turned to leave. Something held her there for a moment, the words that she always said, that she couldn't help but say whenever she was here, the words that kept calling her back. Raven glanced over her shoulder, her eyes just barely visible as she beheld Summer’s grave. “I miss you, Summer. I miss you so fucking much.” With that, she turned back to the portal and was gone. 

Silence returned to the cliffside. Birds fluttered by overhead, the waves below crashed on the cliff face. Life carried on, regardless of what had been said, perhaps even in spite of it. And the grave, as always, stood alone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to give Raven her time to shine after dragging her last week.   
> Had this idea for a long time, so I'm glad that I finally wrote it out!  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!  
> Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacubesilvora  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakobretheKitty


	37. Building a Foundation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aspiring streamer Yang Xiao Long is happy with the small audience she has, when an unexpected guest pops into her chat.

“Okay, so I put this on top of the resource node, then that feeds into the smelter, which-look! Look it’s making smelted iron! And then that feeds into the-Look at the plates! Look at the iron plates coming out of that thing!” Yang mashed the spacebar a few times, her character hopping in place in excitement as the little factory she was building started to come together. Using her spare time and her degree in engineering to build factories in video games was probably not how her father envisioned her spending her time, but Yang liked the games she played. If the small audience she had accumulated from her streaming had anything to say about it, they did too. 

Streaming had never really been Yang’s bag, not in the same way that it had been, and still was, Ruby’s. Her little sister had already formed an audience that most people could only dream of, using her rising fame to start raising money for charity and even to buy a house with her girlfriend. By comparison, Yang was still living in a loft apartment in Vale, but she couldn’t be mad. Ruby had worked hard for her happiness, and she still put in sixteen hour days, no matter what Yang or Penny tried to tell her. 

It hadn’t been until Yang had appeared in a few of her streams as a friendly competitor to Ruby’s title of champion in their favorite fighting game that Yang had considered picking up the mantle of streamer herself. Well, it had really been the three dozen compilations of the stream where Yang utterly wiped the floor with her sister, much to her audience’s delight. Ruby had, grudgingly, bequeathed her crown to Yang, really just a paper mache circlet that Penny had made in an afternoon, but it still sat proudly on top of Yang’s webcam. Ruby had immediately challenged her to a rematch, but Yang had laughed and told her that she could win it back if she ever came on to Yang’s stream. That had been the straw that broke the camel’s back, and Ruby had dived into the pile of old gear she had to set Yang up to stream. 

The first few attempts had been slow and halting, but Yang’s natural charisma had helped her push through. What also helped was finding that people really liked when she flexed her impressive engineering knowledge. Yang settled into her role as entertainer, finding a neat little niche in the mechanic simulation and factory building community. She switched up between games that let her build her dream motorcycle or dismantle cars, which she still did as a job outside of streaming to make ends meet, and more recently the factory building games. 

Simulation games were one thing, Yang liked to say that she could only play them for a few hours at a time because she already spent eight hours a day doing the same thing in real life, but factory builders were different. There was a reason she had started referring to them as the drugs of the gaming world. She could, and had, spent entire days playing them, using her entire weekend perfecting her factory. And that had only been one game, now she was an expert in three of them, and was starting on a fourth. 

“And then we take a good long look at what we’ve done,” Yang said, panning the camera up to show the black smoke pumping out of her machinery, “Gods alive, why don’t any of these games have solar power?” she muttered, and the chat exploded into agreement or wondering why it was even necessary. Yang laughed softly as she saw it, having already given her treatise on why mods and games that added non-destructive energy sources was an important part of factory games in a different stream. “If you guys wanna see that whole argument, you can go watch my streams in  _ Planet Factory _ . Gods, that was a good game, I wanna get back into that one.” That game was a real danger, notorious even among fans of the genre for the obsessive amount of hours that people had put into it. Yang was no exception, doing her first ever twenty four hour stream in that game, completely unintentionally. All that she knew was that she started up the game, then the next moment it was tomorrow and she hadn’t eaten in all that time. 

As the chat continued, Yang scanned it for anything that she wanted to reply to, spying a comment that made her frown. Comments like this one followed her everywhere she went, both on streams or in real life, and she immediately set about making sure that everyone knew it wasn’t okay. 

“No, Armpitsweat69, I will not be sending nudes to anyone,” she said flatly, “I don’t do that shit. If that’s what you’re here for, fuck off. If you want pictures of me outside of streaming, go check out my OnlyStans or my TikTak for workout videos.” That had been an extra avenue of cash that Yang had desperately needed a few months prior, and she had done well. The community of folk who loved buff women had nearly exploded when she started doing workout videos and posting pictures of her deadlifting three hundred pounds. She was especially glad to see that she had a lot of fans in the LGBTQ+ community, and was proud to be a representative of those communities. The lesbian flag in the background of her streaming setup was enough of an indication of that, and she made no bones about her identity to anyone who asked. “All the links are in the description. If you ask again, or try to tell me that I’m out of line, you get banned. Fuck around and find out.” The commenter left and didn’t return, which suited Yang just fine. She didn’t have time for people like that, and there was no room for them in her audience. 

After playing the game for another little while, building up her factory to produce all the basic resources that she needed, another comment caught her eye.

ShadowCatPlays: Sorry about that asshole earlier. Hope that you can do the rest of the stream in peace.

“Thanks ShadowCat,” Yang said with a resigned sigh, “There’s always gonna be people like that, but I’m not gonna put up with it. You have to ask yourself what you’re willing to put up with every day, you know? Today I decided that it was not shit like that.”

ShadowCatPlays: I feel that. Loving the factory so far.

“It’s not that impressive,” Yang said, glancing around at her small industrial complex and grimacing at the smog it was already creating, “But stick around for a few streams and it’ll be nuts in a little while. I once got to the point in  _ Planet Factory _ where, like, I didn’t even know how the factory worked any more. It just did.”

ShadowCatPlays: I’ll check out the VODs. 

“Glad to hear it, ShadowCat,” Yang said, flashing the camera a winning smile. She played for another little while until a small trumpeting noise that she and Ruby had recorded through kazoos echoed through her headphones. She glanced down at the notification that popped up in the corner, always a symbol that someone was subscribing to her streams and saw the message ‘ShadowCatPlays has joined the party!’ “Aw, thanks ShadowCat!” she said, smiling softly at the camera, then kazoos went off again. Yang took a sip of her water before looking down and immediately regretted it as she almost spewed her drink out of her mouth at the notification. 

‘ShadowCatPlays has invited  _ 50 _ people to join the party!’

It was all Yang could do to keep from screaming aloud. Whoever ShadowCatPlays was, they had just paid for fifty subscriptions, fifty one including their own. At the lowest level, that was over five hundred Lien per month, nearly a third of Yang’s rent taken care of. “I-I-You just-Shadow-” Yang stumbled over her words after swallowing her water hard and leaned away from the camera, muttering, “I need a fucking second.” The chat said that was fine, but Yang had already stood up and grabbed a pillow from her bed, shoving it into her face and screaming from sheer, overwhelming joy. It took a few minutes to come back to her computer, a dazed look still on her face as she saw a comment from ShadowCatPlays vanishing in the top of the chat, saying,

ShadowCatPlays: Gotta go, but I’ll pop back into the next stream.

Yang quickly managed to say, “Thanks ShadowCat! I’ll see you then!” Then the name was gone and Yang slumped into her chair, trying to turn over the reality of what had just happened. “Well...um...I don’t know how efficient I’m gonna be tonight,” she mumbled, “That was...Holy fucking shit.” Yang stared blankly at her computer screen until an alarm went off in game as she ran out of power. That startled her into action and soon she was back to entertaining as usual, albeit still in shock at what had just happened. 

After she ended her stream, double checking to make sure that everything was turned off and closed down, she collapsed into bed, screaming into her pillow again. She might have continued doing that for another few hours had her scroll not gone off. A message appeared on it from her friend Weiss, who usually sat in on her streams, or just let it play in the background while she did something else.

“Do you have any idea who that was?” Weiss asked and Yang furrowed her brow, texting back,

“No, but they were awesome. Should I know who they are?” There was a long moment of silence, a silence that Yang knew meant Weiss was trying to find a way to explain something to her without coming across as condescending. Eventually she figured it out, texting back,

“ShadowCatPlays is one of the biggest streamers in the world right now.” Yang’s eyes shot open and she gasped, slapping her hand over her mouth. Weiss continued, “She does full completion playthroughs of rpgs and stealth games. She’s been doing this for years, and nobody even knows what she looks like.” Yang was about to start crying from confused joy until Weiss’ next text ruined the feeling. “Why she likes  _ you _ , I have no idea.”

“Fuck you too,” Yang shot back and she could almost hear Weiss rolling her eyes from across the city. With that Yang collapsed fully into bed and buried her head under a pillow. This was...well, something that she’d never thought would happen in a million years. Ruby got subscribers every other minute, Yang was lucky to make money for all the time she put into streaming, as well as her other online presences. As she started to scroll through social media, trying to find ShadowCatPlays’ accounts if she could, she mused on how to thank someone like that. Maybe she could play a few rpgs or something. That would help. Right now, she was still too frazzled to think. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by my recent foray into factory games. They really are addicting.   
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakobretheKitty  
> Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacubesilvora


	38. Character Creation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To celebrate getting so much support from the mysterious ShadowCatPlays, Yang decides to stream some RPGs with interesting results.

“Okay, webcam’s on, mic is hot, background is-” Yang turned to look behind her, eyes raking over the corner of her bed and the hanging lesbian flag on the wall. “Background is set,” she said, turning back to her computer. She double checked her streaming settings, murmuring to herself the whole while as she went over the website. It was almost like watching her father try to use a new model of scroll, always stopping and starting while staring over the top of his glasses, and usually winding up asking one of his much more tech savvy daughters to help. Yang would never have gone so far as to call herself tech savvy, she much preferred the internal workings of a car or an engine to a computer, but compared to her dad she was a genius. 

No matter how many times Ruby explained the basics of how computers worked or how much she compared it to mechanics, Yang was still clueless about how most of her computer operated. She knew how to take care of it and how to work through a basic emergency, but for anything more serious she needed Ruby to come by. Ruby had even built her a new computer when Yang started streaming more regularly, cannibalizing her old rigs for the best parts. It was a good computer, in the end, not top of the line by any margin but good enough. It was like a used car, if cars had a habit of becoming obsolete in three months. Still, it ran the games Yang wanted to play well enough and could handle both that and streaming at once. That was all she really needed, and so Yang had put getting a new system to the wayside.

Of course, the stream tonight would be putting her computer and her skills as an entertainer to the test. In light of ShadowCatPlays buying so many subscriptions, Yang had put out a message that she was going to stream some RPGs to celebrate, and wanted suggestions. The winner had been a classic from a few years ago,  _ Daughters of Salem _ , which Yang remembered Ruby going on about for weeks after it had come out. It also happened to be one of ShadowCatPlays’ favorites, and Yang thought it would be a good way to say thank you. At least, she hoped so. The whole online economy of collaborations and thank you videos was still a mystery to her, even if Ruby assured her it was a good idea. 

“Okay, here we go,” Yang murmured to herself, leaning over to her second monitor to put out a message on social media that she was going live in ten minutes. It was a good buffer for her, both mentally and physically in some cases, to take time hyping herself up. Yang had a natural charisma, she was friendly, charming, endearingly awkward if you asked Weiss, and had such a wealth of knowledge that she could very well have been an encyclopedia on mechanics. It all helped her get into the right mindset to stream, but it was never easy after spending eight hours at work and scarfing down dinner after a shower to be on time for her self imposed schedule. Ruby had always said that streamers had flexible schedules, if Yang wanted to start an hour later and give herself more time, her audience would almost certainly understand. But that wasn’t how Yang Xiao Long did business; timing, discipline, and consistency were crucial. It was how she had gotten to head mechanic at her job within two years and how she’d graduated her university with flying colors, even while working a full time job on top of all her classes. Compared to all that, being on time for streaming was a cakewalk. 

Ten minutes of calm, slow breathing later, Yang slid on her headphones and scooted up to her desk, cracking her knuckles before settling in to stream. As the stream started, on time as always, Yang watched her logo, a burning heart, spin in a lazy circle as she checked her settings one last time. In cars and in computers, it never hurt to be sure. 

“Hey guys! How we doing tonight?” Yang asked as her logo faded to show her, a beaming smile on her face. Her audience had already climbed upwards of two hundred, and a few familiar names started popping into her chat. Yang’s smile grew as she saw them, her regulars as she called them, saying that they were doing well, some had long days at work, some updating her about their own lives, but they were all glad to be here. “Glad to see you all here, ready to go,” she said, “SeaMonkeyDo, congrats on the new job,” Yang pressed a button on her keyboard and a small party favor sound effect played. 

It wasn't expressly Yang’s job to congratulate her audience on their personal accomplishments, but then again streaming wasn’t her job either. She just enjoyed doing both, and complimenting people always made them feel better. Being told you did a good job went a long way in Yang’s experience, and she was happy to spread that positivity around. 

“So, like you probably know, I’m gonna be switching it up for tonight’s stream. We’re starting an RPG! Yeah, I know,” Yang said with a laugh as she saw the chat explode into sad faces from her more mechanically inclined fans, “But I’ll do a big  _ Planet Factory _ stream to make up for it.” That seemed to sate the chat and Yang clicked a few buttons, shrinking her camera down to the lower left corner of the screen and bringing up the game. The chat once again exploded, but this time with approval as they all saw the title screen for  _ Daughters of Salem _ . “I figured this would be a good one to start with. Everyone seems to like it.”

The chat continued on in excitement, a good chunk of them already laying out items, classes, and more stats than Yang could wrap her head around. The most that she’d ever had to deal with was power usage and efficiency, the list of attack buffs, which ran upwards of fourteen different styles and even more substyles within those, was almost enough to give her a headache right off the bat. But Yang was game to try, and so she clicked ‘new game’, letting the introduction cutscene play. 

Yang leaned back in her chair as the cutscene played, nodding along with the storytelling without a word. She knew that most of her audience wasn’t here for the story, they were here to see her play games, but she loved a good story and had no intention of talking over what most people agreed was one of the best video game narratives in decades. So she sat and listened as the narrator talked about an ancient queen and her lover, doomed to wander to the earth as a punishment for defying the gods. The descendants of that queen, the titular Daughters of Salem, were tasked with protecting the world from the horrible monsters that had sprung up in the wake of the gods’ departure from the mortal realm. Now, millenia later, it was up to the player to uncover hidden secrets, challenge massive monsters, and decide the fate of the world. 

As the cutscene ended and the character creation screen popped up, Yang let out a long, low whistle. She was all of seven minutes into this game and was already sold on the story. “Damn,” she said, “If they keep that kinda tone, I’m gonna love this game.” With that she popped into the character creation, viewing the blank canvas of a character the game started with. “Okay everybody, what are we thinking? Cause this is my playthrough, but I want this to be our character, you know?” A flood of hearts filled the chat and Yang grinned, starting to work through the customization options. “Let’s start with hair, that sounds easy enough.”

Soon enough, her character’s physical appearance was complete. What had started as a fairly average looking woman had evolved into a seven foot tall powerhouse, with long, flowing black hair and piercing silver eyes, a trio of vicious scars raking across her chest. The chat had insisted that Yang increase the ‘musculature’ and ‘curvaceous’ sliders to max, which made Yang roll her eyes with a snort of laughter. 

“I know we have a lot of women-attracted people in the audience, but y’all are thirsty tonight,” she said and the chat exploded once more into a few halfhearted defenses and one of Yang’s custom emotes, a chibi drawing of herself, blushing furiously. Yang was finding that having a professional artist like Wiess in her corner helped in the strangest ways. As Yang glanced at the chat a familiar name caught her eye and she had to hold back a small gasp.

ShadowCatPlays: They were just trying to make you in game. 

Now Yang blushed for real, hiding it as best she could, murmuring, “That’s-I don’t-I’m not  _ that _ muscular.” The chat seemed to latch onto the conversation between her and ShadowCatPlays immediately, some of them saying that she was as close as humanly possible, which only made Yang blush a deeper shade of red. “Uh, anyway, what kinda class do we want?” she asked, scrolling slowly as she read out the name of the prebuilt classes.  _ Daughters of Salem _ was well known for allowing the player to customize their character’s abilities and build any way they wanted, but they all had to start somewhere. “...Alchemist, Arbalist, Brawler, Brewer…” she listed off, slowly and methodically making her way through each class, ending up on the Zephyr, which she knew Ruby enjoyed. “So what do we think?” The chat overwhelmingly voted for Brawler, or at the very least that was the one that Yang saw the most and without the know how to make a proper poll, it would have to do. “Okay, Brawler it is,” she said, scrolling back up before balking as she saw her character’s armor. It was simple, practical clothing and fist wraps, her character lightly bouncing on the balls of her feet in a boxing stance, each piece of clothing specifically designed to show off the muscles as best they could, with a proper hole in the shirt so the abs were visible. The chat was suddenly filled with hearts and blushing chibi Yangs, and Yang gave the camera a look of faux scandalized offense. “Gods alive, go take a cold shower or something,” she scoffed, before giving her character a long once over, “But she does look pretty good, I’ll give y’all that. Okay, basic abilities,” Yang read out the basic Brawler abilities, namely Flying Punch and Explosive Fury, named her character Sunny, and nodded happily. “Looks good, let’s get going!”

The moment the game started and the first NPC was introduced, Yang knew she was going to adore this game. Everything about it was so thoroughly rooted in the fantastical fairy tales she loved, mixed with a healthy and respectfully dark theme, that Yang was smitten almost immediately. Soon she had figured out the basics of combat and was cleaning house through the tutorial. As she went she glanced at the chat, almost having to force herself to look away from the game to do so, and even to remember to speak as she played. That had been one part of streaming that Yang still hadn’t mastered, entertaining consistently throughout instead of immersing herself completely in the game she was playing. Still, she did a good enough job to keep the numbers up and even gaining a healthy amount of viewers as she went, laying down the law as appropriate. 

ShadowCatPlays: Look out

“Look out?” Yang asked, “Look out for-” she yelped as the floor gave way underneath her character and she fell into a dingy basement, a far cry from the opulent halls of the mansion she’d just been sneaking through. “Oh. Thanks for that, ShadowCat,” she said with a playful roll of her eyes, seeing a new comment pop up,

ShadowCatPlays: I warned you!

SeaMonkeyDo: She really did tho

“Yeah, she did, didn’t she?” Yang said with a rueful sigh, pushing further into the basement, that was quickly turning into a dungeon. A thought occurred and Yang grimaced slightly, saying, “Hey, ShadowCat, I don’t wanna use the wrong pronouns for you. Do you mind sharing them?” A long moment of silence passed, even the chat staying totally still, before a response came in.

ShadowCatPlays: She/her, or they/them. Depends how I’m feeling. Tonight’s a she/her kinda night. I’ll let you know when I pop in next time.

Yang let out a small sigh of relief and flashed the camera a smile. “Okay! Sounds good.” With that she went back to the game, pushing onwards through the dungeon setting until finally winding up in a large, open room. “This is a boss room if I’ve ever seen one,” Yang muttered. The door slammed shut behind her, Sunny even looking over her shoulder with an incredulous raise of her eyebrow, before a massive, six limbed mixture of a dog and a slug burst from the floor, bellowing in rage at being disturbed. A health bar appeared at the top of the screen labeled  _ Ichthar the Devourer _ , stretching from one side of the screen to the other. Yang screamed in a panic and started running in a circle around the room, trying to get her bearings, yelling, “Nope! Not today demons!” before finding a sizable pillar to hide behind. She took a few deep breaths, her very real shock fading ever so slightly as she remembered that she was in a game built around fighting such massive creatures. A small, nervous smile later and Yang shouted, “Charge!” running around the pillar and facing down the monster. A split second later and Icthar had smashed her into a wall, taking away half her health in a single blow. Yang scurried back behind the pillar, muttering, “What the  _ fuck _ ,” before turning back to the camera. “Uh, any ideas?”

SeaMonkeyDo: Just punch it, right?

“Yeah, real helpful buddy.”

M-and-M: Heal yourself, dumbass!

“Oh,” Yang muttered, pressing the health potion button, “Right.”

ShadowCatPlays: Wait for it to do that big swipe. It’ll get its arm stuck in the wall and then you can deal a lot of damage. The Brawler’s actually really good in this fight, since Icthar can’t hit things too close to its legs and you’ll have to get right underneath it to deal damage.

Yang pursed her lips, reading that comment twice before it vanished in the chat, then nodded firmly. “Okay, here we go.” She rounded the corner again and was immediately smashed flat by a gigantic, slimy fist. Yang let out a groan of pain even as the player, healing up again before charging in. With the chat cheering her on and ShadowCatPlays’ advice in her head, Yang set to work. The massive swipe missed by inches as she dove away, then rolled up to the monster’s massive torso as its fist embedded in the wall. Yang let out a sigh of relief as she saw the healthy chunks of damage each one of her punches did, and she quickly fell into a rinse and repeat cycle, burning through the rest of the bosses health. As the boss slid to the ground in defeat, vanishing into smoke and ash, Sunny glowed and big, bold letters popped up, saying, ‘Level Two! (Press ‘C’ to use skill points)’ Yang hit ‘C’ with a happy cheer and was greeted by her character screen, all of the nearly two hundred skills in  _ Daughters of Salem _ with a plus sign next to each one. “Oh gods,” she murmured, then started to go through them all, one by one.

Slowly she put together a picture of how the skills played into one another. Dexterity raised her dodge range, jump height, balance, and speed, but putting skills into Fleet Footed gave speed and dodge range higher bonuses for fewer impacted mechanics. The same was true for Strength and Closed Fist for basic attack stats and all of them led into certain abilities that needed certain skill levels to unlock. It was complicated, but Yang dealt with complicated things every day. It was almost like-

“Oh my gods it’s like a factory game,” Yang said with a gasp, leaning back in gleeful shock. A surge of inspiration crossed her heart and she shot the camera a cocky grin. “I’m gonna make the most efficient Brawler y’all have ever seen, just fucking wait! Oh gods, there’s so much and I’m gonna have to do math and-” she let out a happy sigh, almost collapsing onto her desk in a wonderful joyfulness. “I need to do math for a video game again! I’m so fucking happy right now, I haven’t had to do that since I started streaming  _ Planet Factory _ .” 

ShadowCatPlays: You like math?

“I love math,” Yang said with a grin, “I aced that shit all through school, hell I could’ve gotten a full ride to be a mathematician. But I went in for mechanics instead, I’m a gearhead at heart.” She leaned back in her chair, chatting with her audience as Sunny stepped out of the basement and into the light, heading towards the nearest town. Yang was so caught up talking with her audience that she almost missed the first major NPC of the game, who also doubled as the first extra party member the player could recruit. The moment she saw the character, Yang knew she was doomed to love this game forever.

The NPC in question was a lithe woman with a deceptively powerful build, a sassy grin, and more than enough attitude for a dozen people. Her hands were on her hips as she approached Sunny with every intention of robbing her, thumbs gently gracing the hilts of her dual swords. Eyes of blue and amber narrowed as she gave Sunny a long once over, her grin growing cocky as she took in the brawler. 

“So,” she said, “Who’re you supposed to be?” Even her voice was gorgeous and Yang’s eyes went wide in amazement, her blush returning.

“Oh gods, can she be romanced?” she asked without even thinking and soon the chat was filled with a chorus of ‘Yes!’. “Okay, good, cause that’s who we’re romancing. Like, I know I said that this was our character, but like…” Yang gestured weakly at the screen, where the woman had placed a blade under Sunny’s throat, lifting her chin ever so slightly. “ _ Look _ at her!” Yang went through the dialogue options, choosing to be friendly and polite as best she could while not coming across as too naive and the woman sheathed her sword.

“Yeah, I can take you to town,” she said in response to Yang’s question in game, “For ten gold Pins.” Yang forked over the money faster than she had for a spare part for her bike, and the woman nodded as she pocketed it. “Much obliged. My friends call me Shadow, by the way.” 

“And her name’s Shadow?” Yang gasped, giving the camera a desperate look, “We’ve gotta romance her now! It’s meant to be!” The chat agreed heartily and Yang headed to town after Shadow when,

ShadowCatPlays: Oh, you met my favorite character.

“No shit?” Yang asked, receiving a quick,

ShadowCatPlays: Yeah, I love her. She’s where I get my name from, actually.

That made Yang gasp again, this time from joy, and she said, “Aw, that’s awesome! We’re gonna romance her, so you’ll be seeing a lot of her in these streams.”

ShadowCatPlays: Good choice.

Yang grinned and settled into her chair to play, continuing the stream for another two hours. As the night wound down, she saved, then saved again to make sure, before signing off with her usual outro. “All right everybody, I’ll catch you in the next one. Stay safe and stay happy.” With that, she closed down the stream, then went through her usual thorough checks to make sure that she was officially offline, even shutting down her computer for good measure. A glance at the clock told her it was already half an hour past her bedtime, and she groaned, knowing that she’d be exhausted tomorrow morning at work. She set about stumbling through her evening routine, before collapsing into bed, the long day of a nine to five and a three and a half hour stream setting in hard and fast. As she fell to the bed, her scroll went off. Yang picked it up, finding a text from Weiss with a picture of her blushing as one of ShadowCatPlays comments rolled by.

The words “You’re so fucking gay,” were written underneath it and Yang scowled halfheartedly, shooting back a,

“Takes one to know one, princess.” That settled, at least until Weiss had bothered to look up from her evening coffee and documentary to read the response, Yang drifted off to sleep. Tonight, she decided, had been a phenomenal success. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone seemed to like the first part of this Streamer AU so I wrote more! Might publish it separately as an added bonus story that updates irregularly. We'll see!  
> Going to post a one shot on its own later this week, so look out for that!  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!
> 
> Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacubesilvora  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakobretheKitty


	39. The Next Generation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the distant future, Blake and Yang's daughter follows in their footsteps, taking the first step to becoming a Huntress.

“Mom, please,” Lilla groaned as her mother pulled her in for another kiss, planting one on her cheek. It was another in a long series of kisses, from both her mothers, who had driven her and her childhood friend Aspen Schnee to Vale. “Mom,” Lilla groaned in exasperation as Blake kissed her cheek again, hugging her tighter to her chest, “We’re gonna be late!”

“I’m not going to see you for three months,” Blake said with a huff, giving her daughter another squeeze, “Besides, the airship won’t leave without you, Glynda’s much better about that than the headmaster was when your mother and I went to Beacon.” 

“Didn’t he launch you off a cliff?” Lilla asked and Blake laughed, finally letting her daughter go and taking a step back. 

“He did, the entire first year was thrown right into the Emerald Forest. You know, that was the day-”

“The day that you and mom met and you fell in love with her immediately, even if you didn’t know it,” Lilla said with a weary sigh, “I know mom, you tell this story like three times a month.” Blake laughed again with a shake of her head, folding her arms across her chest as she said,

“Can you blame me? That was the day my life changed for the better.” She glanced over her daughter’s shoulder, who followed her gaze to see Yang putting Lilla’s best friend and their goddaughter in a friendly headlock while Weiss looked on with disapproval. Lilla sighed and shook her head, glancing at her watch and grumbling,

“We really need to get going.”

“You know they won’t leave,” Blake said and Lilla nodded ruefully, “But you’re right. Yang! Aspen! It’s time to go!” Both women looked up in surprise, looking like they had been caught stealing or some such. With a sheepish smile Yang let Aspen go, the green haired woman rolling her neck to get some feeling back into it. She reached down and looped her bag over her shoulders before turning and punching Yang on the shoulder, making her yelp in surprise.

“I’m gonna get you next time,” Lilla heard her friend say and Yang snorted derisively.

“With those twig arms?” she teased and Aspen huffed in a way that was so much like Weiss that it was almost like they were twins rather than mother and daughter. Indeed, other than her hair color and brown skin, Aspen looked very much like her mother, up to and including the haughty demeanor. The habits of the Schnees were well learned, it seemed. Before Aspen could leap at Yang, Lilla called out,

“Aspen, c’mon, we don’t wanna be late,” and Aspen blushed, running a hand through her hair in embarrassment. She turned to her mother while Yang walked back to her wife and daughter, entwining her fingers with her daughter’s like they always had when Lilla was a child. 

“You’re gonna do great, hon,” Yang said with a soft smile, “But if anyone gives you trouble, just let us know.”

“So you can come beat them up?” Lilla drawled and Yang snorted with a roll of her eyes.

“I was gonna say so we could talk to Glynda, but that works too.” They laughed softly and then Yang tugged gently, drawing Lilla into a hug. “Go kick their asses, okay?”

“Every last one of them,” Lilla said firmly and gave her mother a reassuring squeeze. She stepped back and smiled, flicking her gold tipped black hair behind her shoulders as she did so. A whistle went off behind them, and she looked over her shoulder, seeing the airship to Beacon starting to load up. “Shit-”

“Language,” Blake said and Lilla huffed, making her mothers laugh.

“Oh drat, we really must be going,” she said dryly, which made Yang start to laugh harder and Blake shake her head in exasperation. Aspen was busy being lectured by her own mother, who was going over the finer points of dining etiquette, only to be interrupted by Lilla yelling, “C’mon Aspen!” Weiss shot her a glare that made her entire family shrink back a step, but Aspen was already slipping away, calling over her shoulder,

“I’ll call you when I get up there, and when we get to the room!” Weiss’ expression shifted into a pout, but she let her daughter go, instead saying,

“And when you get your team assigned. I love you darling.”

“Love you too mom,” Aspen said, blowing her mother a kiss, which Weiss returned. She came to a halt next to the Belladonna-Xiao Long family and said, “Love you, Aunty Blake,” then gave Yang a sidelong glance before running off towards the airship. Yang scoffed and shook her head, muttering,

“Yeah, love you too, asshole,” before turning to Lilla and murmuring, “You’ll call right?” 

“As often as I can,” Lilla said, grabbing a hand from each of her mother’s and giving them gentle squeezes. “I love you.” 

“Love you, baby,” Yang said with a gentle smile.

“I love you right back, Lilla,” Blake said softly, tears already brimming in her eyes.

With that, Lilla turned and ran after her friend, slipping into line behind Aspen. They turned to one another and squealed in excitement, leaping up and down in line as they slowly moved towards the airship. Things were changing in their lives, unstoppably and irreversibly, that much was certain. Still, Lilla knew that she would always have her best friend to rely on, as well as her mothers and the rest of her family. Now it was onwards to Beacon, to adventure. Lilla let out a happy laugh as Aspen tried, and failed, to lift her in a joyful hug, effortlessly lifting her waif thin friend with one arm. Soon they’d have a team, just like the stories that her mothers and Aunty Ruby always told them. Soon, she and Aspen would be Huntresses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some nice fluffy writing about a happy future featuring some RWBY OC's!  
> Might expand this enough to introduce the rest of their team, but we'll see.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!
> 
> Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacubesilvora  
> Twitter: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacubesilvora


	40. The First Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raven Branwen was not a coward. She was a survivor, who had left the past behind. Unfortunately for her, the past had a habit of finding her.

Raven Branwen was not a coward. She was a survivor. She had outlived, out planned, and out maneuvered more rivals and opponents than she’d even dreamed of as a child, growing up to become one of the most feared bandit leaders in Mistral. There had been sacrifices, there were always sacrifices, but nothing that she hadn’t willingly shed to be the strongest. There was no use in ruminating on the past, only focusing on the future, the war to come. But the past had a nasty habit of finding her, of making her face what she had done, and Raven was getting rather sick of it.

Of all the Huntsmen and Huntresses in the world who could track her down, Summer Rose would be at the top of the list. Not Tai, not even her own brother would think to look for her here, in the wilds of Mistral, but Summer would. Top of her class, champion of the Vytal Festival, and a hundred other glorious things, Summer was everything a Huntress was supposed to be, but it was more than that. She was drawn to Raven, or perhaps they were drawn together, like magnets. No matter where Raven was, she knew that Summer would always find her eventually. 

And so there she was, in the doorway to Raven’s tent, the flap that served as a door fluttering closed behind her. She was dressed, as ever, in her white cloak that hid the armor she wore underneath, her weapon slung over her back. She reached up and pulled back her hood, glinting silver eyes meeting Raven’s crimson with a fierce intelligence that did a poor job of hiding how scared she was. Just like Summer could always find Raven, Raven could read Summer like a book. She was terrified, but not of Raven. Summer could never be scared of Raven. 

“Hi Rae,” she said, forcing a smile onto her face that was so much like the first one she had ever given Raven that it nearly made the bandit leader sneer. They had been as thick as thieves, dreaming of a life as a team, once. Now those halcyon days were long gone.

“Summer,” Raven said curtly, standing from her kneeling position by her table full of maps and charts, raid plans and train schedules, “I told my guards not to let anyone in here unannounced.”

“Do you really think they could stop me?” Summer asked, a hint of the old competitive flair flashing through her eyes for just a moment before it was gone, hidden behind the fear and mounting sorrow. Raven sighed and shook her head.

“No, I don’t. I know better than that.” She was quiet for a moment, glancing down at Summer’s hand, clasped tightly in front of her body, like she was holding on for dear life. “What are you doing here, Summer?”

“I wanted to see you,” Summer said with a shrug, “It’s been a long time, Rae.”

“Stop it. Stop calling me Rae.” The words slipped out before Raven could stop them, from a part of herself so deep and broken that she had almost forgotten it still had the power to act, the part of her that had dreamed of being a noble Huntress. It was the part that had died when Ozpin’s lies were revealed. Sorrow overtook Summer’s expression for a moment, then she forced her face to adopt a measured neutrality as she said,

“Raven, then.” Raven almost burst into tears as she heard that, as the last strings that had tied her to team STRQ were cut forever. “I still wanted to see you.” Summer’s expression softened just a hair, enough to let Raven know that there was still a piece of Summer, at least, that clung to their impossible future.

“Why? It’s been a long time, like you said,” Raven said stiffly, forcing her own neutrality front and center, pushing aside her feelings like she had become so used to doing. Summer’s gaze flickered away uncomfortably and Raven felt her heart sink at the realization of what Summer was really doing. “You’re going to fight her, aren’t you?” 

“Yes,” Summer whispered, shuffling awkwardly under Raven’s imperious gaze. 

“Why?” The simple question, which Raven had expected to have a simple, fairy tale answer, made Summer pause. She looked back, her eyes narrowed so much it was nearly a glare, and she said,

“Because I have to. Because someone has to. Because I want my children- _ our _ children-to grow up in a world where they don’t have to be afraid of her.” Her neutrality broke as she spoke, falling away in shattered pieces to reveal the scared, lonely woman with the weight of the world on her shoulders. “I want Ruby and Yang to grow up like we should have, living a normal life.”

“There’s nothing normal about being a Huntress.”

“You know what I mean,” Summer said, and Raven nodded slowly. She did know, of course. Summer wanted Ruby and Yang to grow up and be able to choose how they acted as Huntresses, instead of being forced into a war not of their own making. Summer sighed, tumbling into herself so quickly it was like her cloak swallowed her whole. “You could come with me. I could use the help.” 

“No,” Raven said, stiffening her jaw as she spoke and Summer’s face fell further into despair, “You’re going to die. We’d both die if we went.” 

“But we might win!” Summer protested, taking a step forward, her eyes wild and wide and her cheeks gaunt as she spoke, “We were the best students at Beacon, and we’ve only gotten stronger. Please, just try. We could win, we could-could go back to Patch and-I know we joked about you, me, and Tai, but we could make it work!”

“Stop,” Raven whispered as Summer carried on, listing off a thousand impossible things, things that had never been possible even before time and choices had splintered their team. “Please stop.” Summer continued, talking about how much Yang was enjoying kindergarten and how Ruby had started to talk, how Tai was teaching at Signal and how Qrow stopped by for family dinners twice a month. It was too much, too close, too soon, and Raven snatched up Omen without even a second thought, screaming, “Shut up! Just shut up already!” 

Summer stumbled backwards, her hands landing on her weapon instinctually, her gaze focused solely on the blade in Raven’s hand, gasping out, “Rae!” Raven turned to look at Omen, almost unsure how it had gotten into her hand, and gently placed it on the table before her. 

“Why do you care so much?” she whispered, her anger flooding away in the wake of her shock at threatening her closest friend, “Why are you willing to die for this?”

“I have to,” Summer whispered, sounding like she was trying to convince herself rather than Raven. “If I can give my life so that everyone else in Remnant can live theirs in peace, I’ll do it a thousand times.”

“She can’t be killed,” Raven whispered, “I asked-” she paused, remembering the confrontation in the vault beneath Haven, remembering asking Jinn the first of three questions, remembering the answer that had made her run from the family she had built. She wished that she had her mask on, to cover up the way her bottom lip quivered as tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. “Salem can’t be killed.”

“I know,” Summer whispered, “Ozpin told me. It might’ve been the first true thing he’s ever told me. And it hurts. It hurts knowing that I’m probably going to die.” She laughed bitterly and shook her head, still not meeting Raven’s eyes, “I’m going to die. And I’m going to leave Tai, and Ruby, and Yang, and everyone else alone because of it, because of Ozpin’s past.” She let out a shuddering breath and steeled herself, gritting her teeth to keep the tears from falling like she had a habit of doing. It was an expression that Raven knew so well it was like one of her own. “But I’m not doing it for me. I’m doing it for them, for all of them.” She looked up to meet Raven’s eyes, and Raven gasped, taking a step back. Summer’s gaze was cold, all the warmth and joy that usually permeated everything she did vanished behind the focused gaze of a Huntress. It was a gaze reserved only for three things: Grimm, bullies, and bandits. Bandits like Raven. “You should try it some time.” With that Summer turned on her heel and left, pulling up her hood as she did so.

Raven wanted to cry out and leap after her, to let the emotions spill out and babble that she would go with her, that she would go back to Patch and look after their children and the man they both loved. She wanted to pick up Omen and charge out after Summer, march into battle with her one last time, with everything on the line. She wanted to do all that and more, but she didn’t. Instead, Raven sighed and sat back down by her table, returning to her raid planning and ignoring the way her tears kept making the ink run. She ignored her heart, roiling in pain, horror, and sorrow. She ignored the thoughts that kept bouncing in her head, thoughts of Patch, Tai, and a blonde haired baby named Yang, thoughts of Beacon and the days of team STRQ, and the one thought that kept hammering at her consciousness, given strength beyond measure the further away from the camp Summer got: She wasn’t a survivor, or strong, or clever, or any of those lofty accolades she had given herself. 

Raven Branwen was a coward. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been writing a lot of Raven angst lately. This is what I get for following ArtbyFuji.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!
> 
> Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacubesilvora  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakobretheKitty


	41. It's Just...Nice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a snippet of an AU, Blake and Yang spend time together to get away from the horrors of the world around them, only to be confronted with their own budding feelings.

“Still got that biker chick style, blondie?” Yang jumped in surprise, leaping up from the hotel bed and whirling around, fists flying up in a quick defense. She turned to meet a pair of gleaming amber eyes, which shone only a hair brighter than the toothy smile beneath them, canines extending halfway into fangs. She let out a heavy sigh as her hands fell to her sides, settling into a more casual stance and trying not to make it clear how startled she’d been.

“You know I hate it when you do that,” she muttered and the amber eyed woman shrugged, walking around the bed until she was face to face with Yang.

“And you asked me to train you when we were first teamed up. I warned you that it was a full time gig.” 

Yang rolled her eyes and grumbled, “Fucking special operatives,” which made the woman laugh.

“I wouldn’t be too harsh. From what I hear, you’re two successful missions away from becoming one yourself.” 

“I’d rather die,” Yang said flatly, the idea of becoming one of Ironwood’s personal attack dogs grating against the very fabric of her soul. “And I thought you liked my aesthetic, Belladonna.” 

The woman, Atlesian Special Operative Blake Belladonna, shrugged, her infuriatingly attractive smug smile still in place. “I like it better when it’s on the floor.” 

“Then let’s get started,” Yang said, a grin of her own starting to spread as she saw Blake shift her weight from one foot to the other in anticipation. Blake looked like she was about to smirk or come up with some witty comeback, but instead she cut herself off and flung herself at Yang. Yang caught her easily, hoisting her upwards until she could wrap her legs around Yang’s waist. They all but mashed their lips together, hungrily searching for something to cling to, something to grasp as Yang fell backwards in a controlled fall. She landed on the bed, Blake straddling her immediately and tearing open her jacket like a starving woman. 

Yang was there step for step with Blake, quickly sliding her jacket down her arms and tossing it aside, followed by her own jacket and then Blake’s top. Within minutes all of their clothes were in a pile by the bed and they were deep in one another’s love.

It was nice, Yang realized hazily as she and Blake began to have their usual wild, raucous sex, to have someone like this. It was nice to have a space of time, even just a few hours, when they could step away from the war raging outside their doorstep and live a different life. Some of her superiors or her peers might’ve called it burying her head in the sand, but Yang had never seen it that way. The war would still be there after she and Blake were both satisfied and exhausted, stumbling out of their hotel room in barely acceptable military dress. 

It wasn’t a hobby, like Ruby had taken to gunsmithing, and it wasn’t stress relief, like Weiss used ballet for or Yang used kickboxing. It wasn’t a distraction, like some of the officers had, using whiskey in place of a personality. It wasn’t even a vacation, something that nobody had these days.

It was just...nice.

Hours later Yang was laying in bed, staring blankly at the hotel ceiling. She heard a rustling of covers and felt a shifting of weight, half expecting to see Blake getting out of bed to get dressed and leave like she usually did, but that wasn’t the case tonight. This time, Blake crawled up to Yang and slumped over on top of her, resting her head on Yang’s chest. Yang wrapped her arms around Blake instinctually, as though she’d been doing it for years, and Blake nuzzled her head against her chin in silent appreciation.

“Rough mission?” Yang murmured softly and Blake nodded. She hadn’t expected a spoken response, not a response at all, really. Blake was the kind of person that the military claimed didn’t exist. She was the person in the movies who was warned that if they got caught the government had never heard of them. She was the person who went into hell with no way of getting out. It had almost been a joke when she’d been assigned to work with Yang, but it had only been for one mission. That had spiraled into two missions, then three, and now they worked together almost every day, though the past few months had seen them on opposite sides of the world. That was the nature of the job, of course, and their skill sets. Blake was a scalpel, Yang was a high explosive. They went where the war dicated, Anima, Solitas, Sandus, and everywhere in between, but they always found themselves here, in a cheap hotel room, in bed together.

That had started as a once off thing too, when they had both had too much to drink one night and wound up with hazy memories and relaxed shoulders. They had avoided talking about it for months, until Yang had woken up in the middle of the night while on leave to find Blake standing outside her hotel room. They hadn’t said anything, they hadn’t needed to. They both knew what their arrangement was. Sex, good, clean, fuck-me-so-hard-I-can’t-think-till-tomorrow sex was what they were both after. It was someplace extra, separate, safe. It was a dimension away from the war, and exactly what they both needed.

What neither of them had needed, what neither had anticipated, was how often it happened or the strings that came with it. Yang had never been good at avoiding getting attached, and something about her had made Blake keep coming back. The feelings that came with it, the small disappointment in Yang’s heart when she woke up the morning after they met for the night to find Blake gone without even a note, that was a surprise. The way that Yang had felt her heart swell even when Blake had teased her about being caught off guard hadn’t been part of the plan. The way that Yang smiled softly down at Blake as they drifted off to sleep, curled up with one another like they were a proper couple, had never even been in the cards.

Yang had seen a lot of things in her time in the war. She’d seen people vaporized by explosions, seen cities leveled, seen the carnage that people like her and Blake wrought firsthand. She’d lost friends in all sorts of ways, all sorts of stupid, careless ways. She had been scared, terrified that every moment was going to be her last more times that she could count. 

None of it, nothing she had seen, scared her as much as the budding love for Blake that she felt in her heart. The only thing that possibly could was the idea of never seeing her again. It was a horrible contradiction, and one that she knew she and Blake would have to hash out one of these days. Right now though, she allowed herself to settle into her love, just to taste it, just for one night. She had never drifted off to sleep so easily. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A piece of an AU that I toyed with for a bit, but I think that this one is pretty firmly on the back burner.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!
> 
> Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jacubesilvora  
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakobretheKitty


	42. Eyes Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the ruins of the Remnant system, as war rages, life carries on.

“Hey Guardian,” Maiden-9 said, glancing up from her work, her hands reforming from the gunsmith’s tools they had been. The new scout rifle she was working on was coming along nicely, a sleek design with capacitors to cycle Arc energy into each round. Yang would have to remember the name of it when she found out, Ruby always loved getting new scout rifles.

“Hey Maiden,” Yang said, leaning on the counter of Maiden-9’s shop. The Exo studied her like she always did, glowing gold eyes flicking around and absorbing information like a sponge while her black chassis rested on one hip, folding her arms over her chest. “You got any new rockets I can test out?”

“None since the last time you asked. You used all my stock already,” Maiden said with what might have been a snort of laughter, but it was always hard to tell with the old Exo’s damaged vocal projectors. It puzzled Yang that Maiden could build bombs powerful enough to obliterate the atmosphere in her sleep, or what passed as sleep for the Exo, but refused to fix her own vocal projectors. 

“I was hoping you had time to make some more?” Yang asked, throwing on her best puppy-dog eyes, but Maiden was unaffected. 

“I’ve been building enough guns to resupply every damn Guardian in this city,” Maiden said flatly, her eyes narrowing, “You want more rockets, I can give you the blueprints.”

Yang’s eyes lit up and she gasped, standing straight up in excitement, “Would you really?” she asked and Maiden took a step back, put off as always by too much excitement. Yang laughed softly, running a hand through her hair, with an apologetic smile, making a mental note to keep her excitement in check around Maiden. 

As Maiden opened her mouth to speak again, another voice rang out from the interior of the smith. “Once Ghira says we can share them, you’ll get them, and not a moment before.” Yang looked over Maiden’s head to see her companion and official armorsmith of the Last City, Respite-4. She all but glared at Yang, who smiled sheepishly and waved, almost wilting under the steely red eyed stare from the usually apathetic Exo. 

“C’mon, Respite,” Maiden said with a roll of her eyes, “It’s Yang. She’s our best field tester.” 

“Our best field tester leveled a historic monument the last time you let her take out a prototype weapon,” Respite said, walking up to the counter and leaning onto her elbow. “What happened to that gun, anyway?”

Yang sucked on her teeth in thought, then shrugged, “I lost it in the VDZ. And in my defense, that monument was possessed by a Geist. Even Ghira said I had every right to destroy it.” The gun in question, an absurdly powerful rocket launcher that Maiden had called the Gallant Horn or something of the like, had been a masterpiece of engineering. It was a shame that Yang had lost it in the ensuing escape from a horde of Grimm, that gun had turned a city block into a crater with one shot. 

“I bet he did,” Maiden said with that same half snort. She glanced at Respite, then back at Yang, and furrowed her brow. She blinked a few times, looking away and studying the rifle she’d been working on. After a long moment, she looked back up at Yang, golden eyes raking over her once more. “Hey Guardian,” she said, “what can I do for you?”

Yang held back a frown and a sigh, gesturing at the rack of shotguns in the back. “I could use a refill on my shells, if you don’t mind.” Maiden nodded and made her way to the back to fill a few boxes of ammunition and Yang let her frown slip out. She glanced over at Respite, who was studying Maiden with a forlorn expression. “Her memory’s getting worse, isn’t it?” Yang murmured and Respite sighed with a slow nod.

“Yeah, worse every day. She’s still got everything that makes her, you know,  _ her _ , but it’s not the same as it was two resets ago.” 

“I thought it took longer for Exo to start losing memories like that,” Yang said softly, “I mean, I know that you don’t remember anything after a reset but…” she trailed off as Respite shot her a glare, taking a step back and staring at her toes. “Sorry.”

After a long moment of silence, Respite let out a small grunt and said, “It’s fine. Perks of being first generation Exo, our memory cores aren’t as good as they should be. If we could find wherever we were built, get the right tools, maybe she and I could figure out a fix, but we don’t even know where to start.”

“I thought you came from somewhere else in the system?” Yang asked and Respite shrugged.

“Sure, I’ve got the logs to prove it. Only problem is there’s a gap in the log's flight data and I got reset twice after we got here.”

“At least she’s still Maiden, right?” Yang said with a weak smile and Respite shrugged again, a defeated expression crossing her face.

“For now.”

Yang’s frown deepened and she looked away for a moment, watching Maiden work. She finished loading boxes of ammunition, and tucked them under her arm, heading back towards the counter. Before she got close, Yang turned back to Respite and said, “If you ever want to find where you came from or anything about the Exo, just let me know. I’ll help.”

“Yeah, you and every other Guardian,” Respite muttered, then called out as Maiden approached, “You got all her shells?”

“Sure do. Solid slug, high velocity shells with explosive tips. I remember,” Maiden said with a shrug, putting them on the counter and sliding them across to Yang. They vanished into data and code as Ember stored them and Yang nodded her thanks. “You ever need anything else, you let me know.”

“I will,” Yang said, forcing a smile onto her face. She stepped away from the counter with a wave, only to be stopped when Maiden said,

“And send that little redhead you run with this way...the hell was her name…”

“Ruby?” Yang supplied gently and Maiden nodded in satisfaction.

“Yeah, send Ruby my way. I think she’s gonna like this gun.” She gestured at the scout rifle she was working on, one of her hands already hard at work.

“Will do,” Yang said with a wave, “I’ll catch you two later.” As she turned to leave with another wave, she heard Maiden and Respite yell the same things they always did when Guardians walked off, nearly a trademark at this point.

“Don’t miss.”

“Don’t die.” 

Well, Yang thought with a sigh as she headed back towards the main gathering hub, she could promise the first one, anyway. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A snippet from my Destiny AU! This is probably the most self indulgent AU I have, these days.  
> Posting this a day early because I'll be busy all of tomorrow  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments are always appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> I have so many of these gathering dust, there needs to be an outlet.


End file.
